


The Twin: Book 1

by effervesce_illusion



Series: The Twin [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Made Mistakes, Goblin Customs kinda, Godfather Severus Snape, Harry Potter Has a Twin, Hogwarts, Kind Dursleys, Kinda Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Orphanage, Pureblood Customs, Pureblood Politics, Sentient Magical Houses, Slytherin!Harry Potter - Freeform, Wizengamot, fem!Harry Potter - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-10-03 03:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 52,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17275871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/effervesce_illusion/pseuds/effervesce_illusion
Summary: Albus Dumbledore made a mistake at Godric's Hallow; he misidentified the Saviour as Lloyd James Potter and left Genesis Lily Potter at Tanner's Orphanage. Upon her introduction to the Wizarding World, Genesis changes her name, distrustful of Dumbledore, and enters her first year of Hogwarts with too much power to be normal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first work on Slytherin female Harry so feedback is great! Disclaimer: if you recognize anything in this story or any character names, building names, places, etc. from the Harry Potter books, they're the work of JK Rowling and I don't take credit for it. Any other recognition you may experience is not based on real-life people, I promise.

PROLOGUE

\--November 1st--  
The old man attired in an odd plum-coloured cloak with a matching pointy hat leaned over, muttering for a few seconds which creates an odd greyish glow, before leaving with a sharp crack. At the same time, the lights in front of the building turned on, illuminating the steps and the basket placed on the top stair.

The lights shone on three other noteworthy things: the name of the building, Tanner's Orphanage, a girl in a basket, and the slip of paper resting on the basket. It was an open letter.

Dear Matron of this Orphanage,  
Her name is Genesis Lily Potter. She is a year old. Her parents died tonight; however, they have ensured her spot at a boarding school at the age of eleven.  
Take care of her.

It was a very short letter, with no closing.

The raven-haired baby did not flail but her eyelids abruptly opened to reveal startled pure green eyes. She did not cry, but she did not fall back to sleep either.  
\--

On Privet Drive, which the strangely cloaked old man had just left, was an identical basket, this one with a much lengthier letter.

Dear Petunia,  
I sincerely regret to inform you that Lily has died. She died bravely in the war and she died protecting this child. I know you have made peace with your sister so I dearly hope you take care of Lloyd James Potter as your own. You will always have a place in the magical world and feel free to introduce him to the world.  
I found it wiser to place him with you since as the Boy Who Lived, he will be widely recognized. At young age, it is ill-advised for him to be extremely aware of this so we have placed him with you.

To go more in-depth--  
I know you have heard of the Wizarding War that has been racking the magical world lately. I am sure you have heard of Lord Voldemort. He himself killed James and Lily. I suspect that Lily, who died to try and save her children, is the reason that when Lord Voldemort hit Lloyd, the curse rebounded and killed Voldemort instead. Lloyd will have the lightning scar on his forehead as the remnant of the curse. Lloyd will forever be remembered as the one who defeated Lord Voldemort.  
The war is now over as he is gone; however, I believe that there is a possibility of his return and we must keep Lloyd safe. This place, in his blood relative’s home, as long as he chooses to call it home, will keep him safe through blood magic. I hope you take him and care for him as your own son for this reason.

The letter went on for a while, detailing more specifics of the Wizarding World and expectations which would be placed on Lloyd. It finished with a closing and the flourished signature of a well-known man.

Best wishes,  
Albus Dumbledore

The infant let out a loud wail as tears started to pour out of his faded blue-green eyes.

\--October 31st--  
A dark cloaked figure glided through, passing the cottage. He peered into the window and saw two children, both younger than toddlers, perhaps a year old. These were the Potters. He was sure of it. As if to make things clearer, a fiery redhead and a dark-haired man came in. The dark-haired one immediately pulled out his wand and started amusing one of the children, the boy with duller blue-green eyes. The redhead woman, Lily, took the other girl with eyes so bright they looked like Avada Kedavras. The girl frowned and began acting fussy. Lily sighed before turning to speak.

“James, she’s been more fussy than usual. She’s nearly never fussy; it’s always Lloyd.”

“I don’t know. Maybe just a bad day.”

“Do you think she’s picking up on our emotions? I’ve been feeling worried and unsettled all of today.”

“That’s a possibility. Dear, don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”  
\--

“Not them, not them, please not them!”

“Stand aside you silly girl, stand aside now.”

“Not Genesis! Please, no, take me! Kill me instead-!” Lily screamed, pleading with the Dark Lord. He merely scoffed and sent the curse at her. She crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The cloaked figure went up to the two children. One of them was still crying while the other just gazed up at him with unnervingly bright eyes.

The Dark Lord contemplated the girl. Was it possible to find out their names? The Dark Lord observed the two of them. Hanging around their neck were thin golden chains with names spelled on.

The crying one-- Lloyd Potter. The calm girl was Genesis. If it weren’t for the prophecy, he would’ve taken that girl and raised her up properly, but as it was, they both had to go.

“Avada Kedavra!” he exclaimed, pointing his wand at Lloyd Potter. At the same time, Genesis’s eyes had narrowed and she’d thrown herself in front of the curse, the entire time staring accusingly at the Dark Lord. The green light hit her on her collarbone but rebounded, shaking the house and hitting the Dark Lord.

At the same time, a piece of stone dropped from the ceiling, scratching Lloyd’s forehead. A cut shaped like a lightning bolt appeared.


	2. Tanner's Orphanage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genesis Lily Potter's life at the orphanage hasn't been as rough as some expected and what's better is that she's going to escape it soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, see the previous chapter for the disclaimer (I don't have to keep putting a disclaimer, do I?)

Genesis Lily Potter impassively watched the two older boys towering over her, holding a thin grey sweater.

“Please give me back my sweater. It’s awfully chilly.”

“Aww, look at the poor cold little girl,” he said, lowering his arm as if to give the sweater back. As Genesis reached up, he yanked it away. “But I think not. This would do very well in the trash, don’t you think?” If possible, Genesis’ green eyes grew brighter, almost seeming to glow, and suddenly the two boys had knives pointed at their throats.

“The sweater.” the five-year-old demanded, pale hand reaching out. The boys gulped, quickly eying the deserted corridor they were in as if trying to find an exit before the sandy-haired one reluctantly gave the sweater back.

“Just you wait, the Matron will hear about this!” the other boy shouted as the pair ran away. The threat was very clearly hanging for the girl. Genesis quickly willed the knives away before running to her room, thankfully avoiding anyone else. She put on her sweater and sat on the edge of the bed, reading The Hobbit once more.  
\--

“Genesis? I’d like to talk to you.” the Matron said. She was standing in the doorway with stern eyes and feet planted in what Genesis recognized as a power position. Genesis stood up with a smile.

“Okay.”

“So I heard from John and Ricky that you threatened them with knives for no reason? According to them, you tricked them into going into a deserted corridor.”

“But… I don’t have knives?” Genesis replied, head tilting to the side and eyes tearing up. Genesis is distinctly aware of her long black hair brushing the large book. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

The Matron gave the girl a once-over and upon seeing how far the girl was into The Hobbit came to the conclusion that John and Ricky must’ve been making things up again. At the same time, something about Genesis unsettled the Matron. Genesis was five, cute with her button nose and soft cheeks, and smart, but there was something else about her that felt like Genesis’s tears were crocodile tears.

“Very well. I believe you and I’ll have a talk with John and Ricky.”  
\--

July 31st, the middle of summer break, was a rather ordinary day in Genesis’s eyes.

Genesis was ten, maybe eleven. She had no idea of her birthday but considering that it was nearly halfway through the year, she was probably eleven. Genesis did know how she was left here though; she’d talked to the Matron’s French assistant, who was a younger woman who’d eventually left the orphanage.

It had been November 1st, 1981, and she’d been left here with basic information but not her birthday. Not that she cared too much for her birthday; as long as she knew her general age it didn’t really matter.

Even though she was at an orphanage she’d found a way to stand out; her raven black hair that flowed to her mid back and eerily bright green eyes were always there to put her in the spotlight. Then there was her height; she was short since she was malnourished, which happened to just be another reason for non-orphans at school to bully her.

And then her own secret. On her collarbone, which was often hidden, there was a scar shaped oddly like a lightning bolt. Genesis called it her rune, a term she’d come across while reading The Hobbit. She had no idea what it was, probably just a birthmark, since no one used runes and she doubted that her parents actually were irresponsible enough to tattoo a baby. But you never knew.

Genesis was what others described as an odd girl. She was somewhat introverted though it didn’t mean she was socially awkward; in fact, she was surprisingly eloquent for someone as young and quiet as herself. She was also extremely intelligent and gifted in memorization which she took advantage of when she could. At school, she’d always be in the library instead of playing with the others, which others found extremely strange. She was often bullied because of this, but of course, that wasn’t the only reason.

At first, it was because of her young age and the fact that the Matron’s assistant enjoyed the little girl and thus the Matron did not crack down as harshly on the little girl as the Matron did with others. But then it became the strange behaviour, and finally something else.

Genesis could do things. She did weird things which scared the others so they bullied her, which often backfired. Genesis nearly never got in trouble but always got her revenge and when she did get in trouble, she’d watch the Matron with a calm face. Once the Matron left, the girl would turn to the accuser and glare, eyes glowing eerily.

Genesis didn’t strictly want to hurt others but they needed to be taught, and this way nothing would be traced and no one could prove anything.

When she’d realized she could make odd things happen at the age of three, she started perfecting the art. At five, she could conjure anything but food and water out of thin air and vanish anything she wanted. Of course, she’d also dedicated her time to other pursuits, most of those pursuits intellectual but she was also a dancer and could hold her own in martial arts.  
\--

This was supposed to be a nice early morning-- a quiet one, too, until the others woke up and she could no longer concentrate, but then the plan for the morning crash landed, shattering on the cement floor, when there was a knock at the door.

“Yes?” she called out, muscles tensing.

The door creaked open in response, little paint chips and flakes fluttering onto the ground. Yellow flakes too, which was utterly disgusting.

“There’s someone here to see you. A professor at a boarding school or something.” Genesis raised an eyebrow as the Matron disappeared from the doorway. In her place was a smartly dressed man in a suit with a turban wrapped around his head.

“G-g-good m-morning, Miss P-p-potter.” the man stuttered. “M-m-my n-name is P-professor Qui-quirrell.” Genesis was slightly surprised by the stutter but made no comment.

“Good morning sir, please sit down,” Genesis said, gesturing towards the rather comfortable sofa she’d conjured one day when she was absolutely done with the room given to her.

“Th-th-thank y-y-you.” he said with a nervous smile. “I-i am a p-professor at a b-b-boarding sch-school wh-where y-you h-h-have b-been reg-reg-registered s-since b-birth. Y-you c-can be-begin th-this year on the f-first of Sept-september.”

Genesis frowned slightly. Her parents had registered her for a school? If so, why had they dropped her here? This wasn’t quite adding up.

“What is the name of this school?”

“H-h-hogwarts Sch-school of Wit-witchcraft a-and W-wizardry,” he replied. Genesis frowned a little more. This name… was it a joke? But who would play this joke on her? Quirrell seemed to subtly change, a change Genesis didn’t notice as she was focused on her own thoughts.

“You are different, Genesis Potter, from the other children. That difference is your magic.” the man leaned forward slightly. “Those odd things you can do when you become upset- all those things are magic.”

Genesis smiled an unnerving but bright smile which often drew in the other orphans despite their mutual hatred. If it had been Dumbledore who was in Quirrell’s place, he would’ve had an inkling of a suspicion for a link between her and the Dark Lord… but he would’ve realized that there was no similarity. After all, Genesis’ smile held all the world of a young child and all the world’s hope and there was nothing inhumane about it.

“I knew there was something different. Is it normal for children to have a grasp on their magic, or is it just random bursts?” she turns abruptly to ask him, a serious expression on her small face which had eyes so similar to Lily’s.

“No. Children often have no control over their magic. There is much more you need to know, however.” the professor said. “In the wizarding world, there are different types of blood. Pureblood, half-blood, and muggleborn. A muggleborn is a witch or wizard who has two parents of non-magical or muggleborn status. From this, I’m sure you can find out what a half-blood and pureblood is. What’s important right now is your family.”

“I don’t have one.”

“You do. One of your parents was muggleborn. Her name was Lily. The other parent was a pureblood, making you a half-blood. You also have a fraternal twin. His name is Lloyd and he’s residing with your Muggle aunt and uncle and cousin.”

“A twin?”

“Yes. There’s another part of your story. There was a wizard called the Dark Lord Voldemort.”

“Is that French?”

“Yes.” The professor raised an eyebrow in surprise before continuing. “Most people do not say his name; they call him He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who.”

“Slightly idiotic. A name is merely a name.”

“Very true. He started a war and was at large for years, which caused chaos. He began targeting your parents, who were on the other side of the war, and he killed them. Then he tried to kill you and your brother, but the spell was rebounded back. No one knows why but he disappeared.”

“Did he die?” Genesis asked.

“It is unclear. Both twins survived the night and your brother was found with a supposedly cursed scar, a lightning bolt on his forehead. For this reason, he was declared Boy-Who-Lived and sent to live with his relatives since it was said he’d be safer there. The place has magical protections and Dumbledore, the leader of the other side, believed that Voldemort would reappear and target him. The family is muggle, however, he has lived knowing of the magical world and has made several visits to magical places.”

“That’s also idiotic. Where’s the guarantee that he doesn’t target me to reach him? There is none. I don’t want to die either?” Genesis lost her emotions, then realized and abruptly reeled it back in. The professor smiled slightly.

“That is very true. On a happier note, happy eleventh birthday. This information could be a present of sorts.”

“It’s my birthday?” The smile dropped.

“You did not know your birthday?” The professor looked displeased but changed the subject.

He filled her in on Diagon Alley and the Houses. When the professor asked if she’d like to be accompanied to Diagon, Genesis refused, and shortly after the professor bade her adieu.  
\--

Lord Voldemort relaxed, letting Quirrell retake control of the body as Voldemort fell into thought. He’d never forgotten the Potter twins and he knew his curse had hit Genesis, not Lloyd.

He’d been rather confused as to why Lloyd was named Boy-Who-Lived. He still remembered Lloyd’s hideous bawling as Genesis had curiously watched him, eventually jumping in front of Lloyd with a glare in his direction. She was amazingly perceptive for her age. Voldemort had seen Lloyd in Diagon the other day; he’d been extremely loud and annoying, constantly demanding attention. His magic was light grey; not fully formed light core, but certainly not neutral either. Genesis was shocking in that she had a perfectly neutral grey core, not leaning to light or dark. Genesis was obviously the complete opposite to the point of reminding Voldemort of himself. But at least he’d known his birthday.

Would Genesis break the Potter tradition and be the first in Slytherin?

He wasn't sure why he cared, exactly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and again if there are any grammatical/spelling errors feel free to tell me. Any input or questions about aspects of the story are also accepted and appreciated!


	3. Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genesis meets Hagrid, goblins, Diagon Alley, and Knockturn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! The new chapter is here, yay! Again, disclaimers and all feedback is appreciated. Hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Genesis had left with the Matron’s permission wearing an outfit she’d conjured since there was no way she was going out in the tattered uniform. Which she’d met the professor in. That was rather embarrassing and it was because of those things that she loathed being poor. It was rather annoying; she was intelligent, cunning, could be kind, and athletic, but no one looked at her twice because of her orphan status.

Hogwarts was her re-do button to fix mistakes she’d never made. Quirrell had said she had money and she’d make use of that.

Albus Dumbledore had left her on the top step of the orphanage in a basket with her name and “take care of her”. Her small stature obviously screamed that they hadn’t “taken care of her” but she was the afterthought, wasn’t she?

Genesis looked around the pub, observing the people before deciding to go find Tom. He’d found her first however and without many questions allowed her into Diagon.

Then he’d mentioned that she looked “awfully familiar.”

“A mistake, I’m sure. I’ve never been here before.”

Genesis made her way in, leaving Tom with his thoughtful expression, and walked towards what looked like a large grey bank. When she reached the gates, she saw the words sculpted on there:

Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
So if you seek beneath our floors  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.

Genesis studied it for a little before stepping through. The massive marble hall was certainly impressive, but the people were more so. A long counter, behind which were goblins, held the weighings and examinings of coins and jewels and the multiple notepads being scribbled on. On the other side were the people who were led by goblins or conversing with one. Some people were being led through doors, presumably to their vaults of money.

“Is that you, Genesis?” A loud voice booms out behind her and Genesis doesn’t react until a hand falls on her shoulder. She turns to face probably the tallest man she’s ever met.

“Oh. Hello. Yes, I’m Genesis,” she says. “Not to be rude, but I don’t know you?”

“Hagrid, Groundskeeper at Hogwarts. Haven’ seen yeh since yeh were just a little baby! Are yeh here for school stuff?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Hagrid decided to accompany her to the teller and Genesis stuck behind as Hagrid talked with the goblin.

Genesis decided to hold on for her stuff until Hagrid’s official business was done and she had to admit that the small brown package intrigued her.

Later, when Hagrid leaves, Genesis goes back to Gringotts to talk with the teller. She didn’t quite trust Hagrid yet, so while he was there, Genesis hadn’t made any withdrawals. She had, however, went to Flourish and Blotts and read a book on goblin customs.

“I was wondering if you also did family trees? Since nearly every magical being has to store money here at some point.”

“Yes, yes. Genesis Lily Potter, correct? Come and I’ll bring you to Griphook.”  
\--

“Three drops of blood.” Griphook orders the moment Genesis enters, handing her a thin needle. She does as instructed, letting three drops drip into the thimble-sized glass cup. Griphook disappears for a minute before returning with a scroll, handing it to Genesis.

Genesis curiously reads through the paper of her family tree in addition to inheritances.

Name: Genesis Lily Potter  
Mother: Lily Potter (née Evans)  
Father: James Fleamont Potter  
Godfather: Severus Snape  
Godmother: Alice Longbottom (née Prewett) (inactive)  
Magical Guardian: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore  
Siblings: Lloyd James Potter (fraternal twin brother)

Magical Inheritances:  
Veela (Black gene, Quarter-Veela, expect dual Inheritance and wings)

Magical Abilities:  
Parseltongue (Slytherin)  
Metamorphmagus (Black)  
Natural Occlumens and Legilimens (Selwyn)  
Natural Elemental (Slytherin)

Possible Ladyship of Houses:  
Slytherin (through conquest of Tom Marvolo Riddle)  
Gaunt (through conquest of Tom Marvolo Riddle)  
Potter (through owning Lloyd Potter’s life debt)  
Gryffindor (through owning Lloyd Potter’s life debt)

Scion to Houses:  
Peverell (through testing)  
Black (through owning Lloyd Potter’s life debt)  
Carrow (through owning Lloyd Potter’s life debt)  
Selwyn (through conquest)  
Lestrange (through conquest)

Blocks:  
Metamorphmagus Block (successful, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Occlumens and Legilimens Block (successful, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Animagus Block (successful, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Veela Block (failed, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Glamour (successful, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Parseltongue Block (failed, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Magical Core Block 75% Neutral and Dark (failed, placed by Albus Dumbledore)  
Cognitive Ability Block 30% (failed, placed by Albus Dumbledore)

One of the first things which perked Genesis’ interest was the life-debt. That meant she’d saved her brother at some point in her life, but she’d never met her brother before. At the same time, she’d defeated this “Tom Marvolo Riddle” and Genesis was willing to bet anything but her life that she’d saved her brother from Tom Marvolo Riddle. But then, Lloyd must also have one of her life debts since he saved her from Voldemort, and the life debts would probably be cancelled out. Also, she didn’t recall saving anyone during her eleven years of life, meaning that this happened before age two. So that left one other possibility: Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort and she was the “Saviour of the Wizarding World” and her stunt in the orphanage had been for nothing.

Another thing which caught her attention was Albus Dumbledore’s spot as her magical guardian. He’d misidentified the saviour and left her in an orphanage-- a pretty bad job as a magical guardian, if you asked Genesis.

“May I remove Mr Dumbledore as my magical guardian? Please don’t notify him.”

“You could if you claimed the Ladyship of the Houses you’ve inherited since none have age restrictions. We will not notify him. There is one thing, however, that you’d most likely want to be made aware of if you choose to take Ladyship of the Potter House such as odd withdrawals made and I believe a few priceless artifacts taken from the Potter vault.”

“I assume there are responsibilities which come along with being a Lady of a House?”

“Correct. These include the seats at Wizengamot. If you take the Houses, you’ll inherit seven seats in the House of Nobles and be expected to inherit thirteen more from Peverell, Black, Carrow, and Selwyn. Dumbledore has cast your votes ten times.”

“Explain Wizengamot to me,” Genesis says, leaning forward in interest and pinning Griphook in bright green eyes.

“Wizengamot is the court of law. It has two houses: House of Nobles and House of the Common. The first house has 333 seats, 76 of which are currently active. By taking Ladyship, you’d activate seven and make 83 seats active. The second house is through elected officials and that contains 60 seats. The second house also has, debatably, less power due to the nature of the second house. The second house has no power in legislation though it can propose legislation much more easily than commoners and it will join in for judicial sessions. There are three parties, two major ones. The first is headed by Albus Dumbledore, who is currently the Chief Warlock since his party, The Phoenixes, is the majority. The second party, Garnets, is headed by Lucius Malfoy. The third party is least prominent and is called the Holstered Party. They do not have a leader. Currently, the person holding the most seats in the House of Nobles is Lucius Malfoy with twelve, a result of the seats the Malfoy and Black lines have collected over the years. Your brother currently has two seats as a result of will dedication due to the whole business of the Dark Lord.” Genesis sits quietly, absorbing all the information.

“When will I be allowed to participate in Wizengamot?”

“Once you accept Ladyship.”

“Anything else I should know?”

“These houses include rings of Lord and Ladyship. Slytherin’s ring will alert you when someone has attempted to control you, whether by spell or potion, and will resist those potions. Gryffindor’s ring will store energy and assist you in physical exertions, Gaunt’s ring will assist your duelling but it is currently lost, and the Potter ring will store energy.” Griphook seemingly brings the three rings out of nowhere, displaying and identifying each one. “Here’s a pamphlet guide reserved for new Lady and Lords of Houses.”

Genesis quickly scans through the pamphlet and decides that she’ll accept.

“I’ll take it. As long as you can remove Dumbledore as my magical guardian and prevent others from taking money from vaults. Is it possible for you to regain those priceless artifacts? And if you would be so kind to mail me a list of withdrawals made in previous years and continue sending me those lists yearly? Additionally, how much does it take to get rid of the blocks but keep him from knowing?”

“We can do that. There were a couple Dark books, Gryffindor’s sword, and the Peverell Invisibility Cloak taken from the Potter vault which we’ll be able to regain.” While speaking, Griphook’s long thin fingers quickly work magic, revealing Dumbledore’s blocks in dark inky blue strands, which he promptly snaps by slashing the ties in half. “Now that the Glamour is removed, your face is somewhat different from before. A mirror, if you’d like. What about withdrawals made by your twin?” Genesis replies after cataloguing the differences; now her high cheekbones are prominent, her nose seems to have changed to a celestial nose, and her hairline has become a widow’s peak. She’s also somewhat paler.

“Allow him access to his trust vault but return all artifacts he took.”

“Ah… your parents did not think that one through. He has no trust vault and neither do you.”

“Maybe let’s do the Ladyship ritual first and then I’ll deal with that issue.” Genesis says after a moment of contemplation.

“Very well. Do you, Genesis Lily Potter, accept these Ladyship rings and agree to take on the responsibility which comes with each one and the following consequences, which include the sudden stirring of new abilities and the loss of life-debt which Lloyd James Potter owes you in return for gaining the right of the eldest from him?”

“Yes, I accept these Ladyship rings and agree to take on the responsibility which comes with each one. I accept the loss of life-debt in return for Lloyd James Potter’s inheritances to Ancient and or Noble Houses which include any Wizengamot seats. So mote it be.”

Griphook mutters a little more in what sounds like goblin tongue, eventually finishing and surrounding Genesis with an electric green glow. When it fades, Genesis moves towards the three jewelry objects and carefully slides each one on.

“Lady Slytherin.” Griphook nods.

“Thank you, Griphook.” It was pureblood custom apparently to call a person by the purest and oldest title they had unless they were a close friend. “I’ve read a little on the money system, so I’d like to create a trust vault for Lloyd James Potter with 500,000 Galleons. This, with his compounded interest rate, ought to last him until the end of his school days plus a couple more years.”

“It shall be done. Any other requests?”

“Information on all vaults and properties, if it could be mailed to me? But first, is there money in all vaults?”

“No, there is none in the Gaunt family vault. We’ll be able to mail you that information. I’ll give you a general overview as of now-- you have two Manors in France, Potter Manor here and a cottage near Brighton along with the Gaunt family house though it’s a bit run down. You also own Hogwarts castle. The three Manors each come with their house elves and Hogwarts comes with a large host of them.” Genesis decides to not ask what house elves are right now; most likely she can drop off by Flourish and Blotts to discover more.

“Thank you. If you could place another 500,000 Galleons in the Gaunt vault?” Genesis orders. “While we’re at it, is there a way to pay without having physical Galleons on you? Like a Muggle credit card?”

“Yes, there is. It’ll cost 20 Sickles to start the service and you also need to have enough magical ability.”

“This?” Genesis asks as she pushes out a magical glow from her hand. It’s a soft silver.

“Yes. It will recognize your magical signature.”

“Could you set that up? Additionally, would you be willing to be my accounts manager?”

“I’d be honored, Lady Slytherin.” Genesis cracks a small smile at that.

“Perfect. I think that should be it for today,” Genesis says before bidding him farewell. “May your gold overflow.”  
.  
Griphook’s face after Genesis properly bids him goodbye in goblin custom is priceless in and of itself.  
\--

“Hogwarts, dearie?”

“Yes. Madam Malkin, correct? I was wondering if it was possible to get three sets of casual clothing-- reasonable material for someone who is growing and comfortable please-- and four sets of school robes.”

“Not an issue, dear.” Madam Malkin quickly measures and fits her for her clothing and in nearly no time she’s out of the shop with a rather large bag on her arm. She frowns at this and its surprisingly heavy weight, which reminds her that she really needs a trunk.  
\--

Johnson’s Quality Trunks. Genesis took a deep breath upon seeing the sign. She could do this-- only a few more hours of socialization and then she could go back and read all the books she’d gotten at Flourish and Blotts. She may have also ventured down Knockturn Alley and made a few questionably dark purchases there, mostly books, but that didn’t matter that much.

The bell rings, rather loudly, as Genesis steps into the store and she’s immediately greeted by a middle-aged brown-haired thin man.

“Hello, here for your Hogwarts trunk?”

“Yes. I’d like one of your more advanced trunks please-- charmed to be lightweight, expandable, and resilient. If possible I’d like it to have compartments.”

“We do have such a trunk. Would you be interested in trunks with their own libraries and such?”

“That sounds interesting. Could you explain features of trunks?”

“Well, there’s the new featured Apartment line we’ve developed which can fit basically an entire manor inside the trunk. Gardens, ballrooms, libraries, kitchens, bedrooms, you name it and it fits. Additionally we have compartmented trunks. To open them, you unlock the correct lock with the correct key.”

“I’d like a trunk with a duelling room, a bathroom, a library, an office, a garden, and two bedrooms please. Also make it compartmented with seven. In the seventh compartment place all the rooms but the library. Add the library to the sixth compartment. Add the usual charms to make it light, though I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. Add charms to make it highly resilient, though. If you could make it black with silver fastenings, that would be great.”

“Are you sure you can afford that? It’ll be roughly 300,000 Galleons.”

“Yes. When will you have it ready?”

“Well, we’ll have to send it to multiple masters of Charms and such, so we’ll have it in roughly three weeks.”

“I’ll add an extra 20,000 Galleons, and make it one week.” Johnson’s eyes light up when Genesis says that.

“Deal.” 

“Perfect. Do you have the Credit System in your store?”

“Yes.” Mr Johnson looks slightly surprised by the question but masks it well as Genesis’ right hand emits an eerie silver glow. The tabletop lights up green for a second, showing that the transaction was successful.

“Thank you! I’ll be back here in one week to collect my trunk.”

“Honor doing service with you, Ms Genesis.” Genesis notes that there’s a lot more respect in his voice now.  
\--

By the end of the day, Genesis has retrieved everything but her wand. Additionally, she’d bought several unnecessary books for her first year, but she wanted to learn as much as she could as quickly as possible. Some were fairly innocent while others seemed a little less so. Such as the book on the Forbidden Curses among other curses and forbidden potions. She bought a couple books on pureblood custom and Hogwarts: A History.

When she reaches Ollivander’s he greets her with a surprise pop-up before talking to her about her parents and their wands. She’s not unaware of his eagle-like eyes, watching her for a reaction. Ollivander ends up going through several boxes of wands, one after another. Each one Genesis feels as if she could possibly use as it shoots up bright emerald sparks (except for the holly wand which does nothing) but she denies each of them. There isn’t a connection, which Ollivander notices as well. Ollivander beams with each refusal and continues going through boxes. One of them is an applewood wand and upon taking it in her hand, the applewood seems to cause rather severe damage as a bookcase topples over. They keep on moving further back into the store and it’s been nearly half an hour. Ollivander had learned, however, and kept every applewood wand out of her hands. Finally, Ollivander excuses himself and walks all the way back in his store.

When he returns, he makes a rather surprising announcement.

“This is a wand made by a hermit living in the mountains of Lesotho. He grows his own wand trees, makes friends with the bowtruckles living in them, and spends one year crafting one wand. He gave this to me, telling me to give it to whoever the wand chose, as a dream instructed him to. Try it.”

The wand at first touch lets out some gold sparks and immediately fixes the shop to its proper order, filling Genesis with a thrilling rush of power. She grins, certain that this is her wand. Ollivander beams, self-satisfied before educating her on the peculiarities of the wand.

“This is a combination of elder, beech, and red oak. Flexible, eleven inches. Its core is a flaming phoenix feather, a liquidated and reformed basilisk fang, and dragon heartstring. The dragon heartstring is odd in that it was willingly given which has never happened. He managed to create some sort of plait with the three. The wand has a rather unique hilt. The jewel serving as the pommel is a large black diamond and on the grip there are two bands made of small emeralds. In these you can store energy which you can draw on during a fight if you so wish. The guard is unusual in that most of the time wands don’t have one and the material of the guard is black elm.” He rattles the information off so quickly that Genesis barely catches it.

“What does it mean for the wand?” Genesis recalls reading a book on wandlore at Flourish and Blotts and from the bits she caught, it sounds like an awfully powerful wand… which will surely leave her since elder is known to switch to whoever is more worthy. As an eleven-year-old, there are probably about ten thousand wizards and witches worthier than her.

“This wand is extremely powerful. Beech, when well matched, accomplishes subtle artistry rarely seen in other woods. Black elm often accomplishes skilled wandwork and is the least erroneous in magic. Red oak is rather adaptable and good at duelling, and elder wood is extremely powerful though changes owners when it sees its former as unfit. Hopefully this fickleness is negated by the core of two magical animals who willingly gave the heartstring and feather, which increases loyalty. Dragon heartstring is rather temperamental though the elm wood, even as it only acts as a guard, should negate the temperamentality. The phoenix feather adds to the extent of magic you can accomplish and the basilisk fang, which still contains venom and should explain the grey colour of the wand, will increase your power and aim in duels.”

“I read that wandwoods, flexibility, and length symbolize something about the owner. Is that true?”

“Yes. Oftentimes, elder wood matches with someone of power and ambition with spectacular destiny. Beech signifies a person wise beyond their years and open-minded. Red oak is a wandwood that prefers someone adaptable and of quick wits, much like the wood itself. Flaming phoenix feathers, according to the Lesotho hermit, symbolizes someone who is reborn and rises from the ashes. I know many believed you dead; this seems to fit. The basilisk fang reveals your ability to perform spells of a more harmful nature. Then there is dragon heartstring which signifies power and loyalty. I did not know what the gems would do until the hermit told me; according to him it is balance and clarity along with authority, energy, and regeneration. The flexibility indicates your adaptability. For you, considering your stature, the length of eleven inches indicates your ability to fill a space with your authority and make yourself known.”

“Thank you.”

“I believe we can expect great things of you. Orphans have a tendency to do that.” Genesis raises an eyebrow in surprise that Ollivander knew her orphanage upbringing but chooses to not say anything, instead giving him the eleven galleons and leaving with another “thanks”.  
\--

Ollivander watches after the small dark-haired orphaned Potter with an unreadable expression save for the tint of sadness. He was surprised that she hadn’t changed her name yet; the last person he genuinely promised would be great already was thinking of new names for himself. He’d also been an orphan with an undeniable allure which drew people to him like moths to a flame.

Yes, she would grow and do great things. Terrible, perhaps, but great.


	4. A Train To Slytherin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! The chapter is up and again, disclaimers and all feedback is appreciated! Hope you enjoy :)

For the past weeks up to school, Genesis has consistently worn the three rings and necklace. She didn’t want to risk the others stealing it, which was completely possible at this orphanage. Nightmares had also begun haunting her, which she attributed to becoming Lady of different Houses; it made sense that she’d remember and foresee other things, didn’t it? The nightmare which came up most often was two flashes of green light and riding on a motorbike which she’d wanted to dig into but decided that she ought to focus on now first. Before she resolves that though, she concludes that it must be from a time before her memory, so it was before age two. 

She’d read a plethora of her books, which she’d decided to sort in her compartmented trunk. One compartment belonged to leisure activities which contained her books and the ballet things, including pointe shoes, which she’d bought with self-earned money. The other was for school, which contained her school clothes, textbooks, bag, wand, and wand holster. The third compartment were essentials like money, toiletries, and muggle clothing, and the fourth and fifth compartment remained empty. Her plan was to put important miscellaneous items in the fourth compartment and homework she received back in the fifth compartment once the school year started.

Before term started, Genesis had taken it upon herself to write to the Goblins, asking them to legally change her name to Lily Genesis Smythin and saying that she’d later probably change her name to Slytherin. They’d granted her request-- surprisingly, since she was only eleven, but she wasn’t about to complain. Apparently her legal status as a minor had changed since taking up her Ladyship roles and the Trace was also off of her.

Genesis arrives early to the train station and quickly finds a seat hoping that she runs into no one. Seeing as she is early, no one is there to see similarities between her and her twin. Finding a compartment at the end of the train, she sets down her trunk and relaxes on the surprisingly comfortable bench before taking out the book Misconceptions of Magical Cores. Reading the introduction, Genesis comes to the realization that it talks about Light, Grey, and Dark magic and magical cores inside children. Skimming through the book, she realizes that originally, the terms did not become good, neutral, and evil, but rather referenced a magical spell which could be better used by a person with the corresponding magic core. For instance, a Dark magic spell Vulnera Santur was the equivalent of the Light magic spell Episkey, but a person with a Dark core was able to perform the dark spell with more ease than the light spell and vice versa. It was an interesting concept, one which had apparently been misunderstood by the Ministry, who had begun moving spells around based on how dangerous they could be. Oftentimes, the core was determined by values, the way they were brought up, and their parents’ cores. Genesis merely hoped for the Grey core as it seemed to have a wider range of freedom; it had a higher chance of being able to perform all three types of spells. Genesis didn’t claim to be an expert on Wizarding spells, but as a general rule, the more options the better.

A surprising amount of people pass by the compartment anyway. Then two people come in, both looking a little awkward; a boy and girl about her age. They both had brown hair though the girl’s was much bushier and they both seemed to have some form of buck teeth.

“Sorry, do you mind if we stay here? There aren’t any other open compartments.” the girl says when the boy makes no move to talk, just awkwardly scratches his arm.

“I don’t mind.” Genesis shrugs. The pair entered, struggling to place their trunks, before sitting across from her. There’s a distinctly awkward silence where no one speaks until Genesis sighs. She might as well be polite.

“I suppose introductions are in order. I’m Lily,” she says. The boy looked up, relief in his eyes, while the girl smiled and started to speak.

“I’m Hermione, Hermione Granger,” the brown-haired girl introduces.

“Neville Longbottom,” the round-faced boy replies as a slight blush appears and he averts his eyes, obviously shy.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Genesis smiles, remembering that smiling was a generally accepted and good thing. “Are you first-years as well?”

That began a more natural conversation of Hogwarts, the houses, families, and interesting classes.

“I really just want to learn everything. It’s all quite fascinating, don’t you think?” Hermione had asked with bright eyes and a large smile, bouncing subtly in her seat as if she couldn’t possibly contain her excitement. Neville had begun scooting slightly away from the girl after that statement, which amused Genesis. Then the conversation had turned to families where Genesis revealed her half-blood status but still being raised in the muggle world. Neville had acquired a rather contemplative, searching look when she said that-- a rather odd expression on the round face-- but Genesis chose not to comment and noted to herself that she ought to be careful around purebloods; they knew quite a lot and could probably easily find out her history if they got too curious. They got along surprisingly well for Genesis as it went against nearly every former experience she’d had, other than Hagrid of course. There were also those times when she genuinely smiled or laughed during classes at the orphanage or something and everyone would turn, seemingly entranced, but now Genesis knew it was just her residual Veela peeking out.

The trolley witch came through a couple hours after boarding and Genesis had bought a couple pastries to sate her hunger with a small smile, remembering that she wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. After eating, the conversation turned back to Sorting.

“My gran didn’t tell me. She said that I should wait and see,” Neville said, shrugging. “None of the professors would tell me either.”

“Professors?” Hermione asked with raised eyebrows. “You know them? Professor Sprout gave me my letter and didn’t mention sorting.”

“Neither did Professor Quirrell. None of them, I’m guessing, told you to get used to writing with a quill? I didn’t realize how hard it was until I tried writing with one.” Genesis rolls her eyes, recalling the hours spent practising her writing until it looked as neat as with a normal pen.

“Are quills that hard to use?”

“Unfortunately. They really ought to tell us these things, don’t you think?”

“That’s incredibly stup-” Hermione’s cut off by the compartment door sliding open. The three occupants snapped their heads up.

In the doorway was a platinum-haired boy with a rather pointy face. Genesis observed that he ought to be a first year as well. His eyes swept past Hermione, paused for a millisecond on Neville, and landed on Genesis.

“Are you related to Lloyd Potter?” he asks. Hermione and Neville turned to look at Genesis with shocked faces, obviously having heard of Lloyd. Genesis tilted her head as if contemplating the well-dressed boy’s existence.

“It seems as if you’ve caught the wrong person. My name is Lily P- Smythin, not Lloyd.” The pale boy has a rather obvious response to this statement; his eyes narrow infinitesimally before widening in recognition.

“Genesis Lily Potter,” he nearly whispered. Neville seemed to have a light bulb go off as well.

“Lloyd’s twin sister!” Hermione seemed to be about to speak before Genesis spoke.

“Actually, Lily Genesis Smythin. I’m sorry but I have no knowledge of any Potters,” she says, sitting a little straighter and with cold eyes. Draco tilts his head as if evaluating her before smirking.

“Draco Malfoy,” he introduced, offering his hand. Lily regarded the pale fingers for a second before taking it. Thankfully all the rings were concealed under a glove on her left hand.

“Pleasure.”

Releasing Lily’s hand, Malfoy inclined his head before leaving.

“The books never mentioned that Lloyd Potter had a twin. I had no idea,” Hermione said with a frown, obviously upset. Neville stayed quiet.

“I had no idea either.” Lily shrugs, concealing the bitterness rather well. Hermione blinked in confusion.

“Did she die?” Hermione asks. Lily shrugs yet again and Neville jumps in.

“I don’t know. I remember vaguely meeting the Potter twins at a very young age. The existence of the Potter twins was well known among Pureblood families. It’s odd that she just disappeared.”

 

“No idea,” she says before Neville changes the topic, obviously sensing the tension in the compartment.  
\--

When they dismount, there’s a loud shout.

“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!” Lily figured it was Hagrid shouting. As they gather, they all begin following Hagrid, even as Lily shot glances around trying to glimpse her brother. What was her twin like? And why weren’t people talking about Lloyd James Potter yet?

Lily takes a moment to appreciate the sheer size of Hogwarts and magnificence of the architecture which was surrounded by some stunning scenery; a pitch black glass-like lake and mountains on the behind of the turreted castle illuminated by what looked to be torches.

For the journey, Lily joins a boat with Hermione, Neville, and another boy. The boats move on their own, which Genesis is fascinated with. There obviously isn’t technology here, so it must be magic, most likely a route fixed into the boat by a web of six charms. The castle towered above them as they approached before they sank into a cave, departed from the boat, and were herded into a hallway. The Deputy Headmistress, McGonagall, makes a brief appearance and speech before letting them into the Great Hall.

The Great Hall obviously stuns some people; it stuns Lily but she refused to show too much of it. First impressions did matter. The long four tables headed by a table reserved for faculty are in itself bare though impressive, but the enchanted ceiling and floating candlelights add another layer of beauty. The gold plates on the four tables do help as well. Lily heard Hermione whispering about the enchanted ceiling to someone else and she gives a brief smile at how Hermione’s already displaying her knowledge.

Lily lets herself fall into a trance after watching a ratty hat being placed on a stool. She quickly figures out that that’s how they’ll be sorted. Then the names begin being called with Neville and Hermione being placed in Gryffindor. Malfoy is placed in Slytherin, which Lily isn’t surprised about since she’s read books on pureblood families over the summer, and his entire family is Slytherin through and through. Then the Patil twins are placed in separate houses and her interest is piqued; apparently, twins can be placed in different houses. Did she want to be put in the same house as her brother?

“Potter, Lloyd!” The Hall is cheering mixed with some whispers and Lily gets her first glimpse of Lloyd. The twinness was not extremely striking though it was there. Lloyd had reddish hair barely covering his scar, wire glasses which Lily would never consider wearing as a general rule, blue-green eyes, and was significantly taller. At the same time, the twinness was unmistakable; they had the same facial and bone structure. Nurture hadn’t done that much to change nature. 

Lloyd was smiling brightly and seemed to exude confidence and pure satisfaction. Lily came to the conclusion that Lloyd was happier than Lily had ever been in her life and she wasn’t sure whether she was grateful for that or not. After all, she didn’t know Lloyd.

“GRYFFINDOR!” the hat shouts, and the Gryffindor table erupts in cheers as Lloyd grins and strides over to his new table. Lily cringes internally, knowing her name would be called soon after. At the same time, McGonagall’s face turns slightly confused as she notices no “Potter, Genesis” before Lloyd. No doubt she came to the conclusion that Genesis opted out of Hogwarts. 

A couple more people go past to get sorted, and then her name is called.

“Smythin, Lily!” McGonagall seems confused by the name before quickly masking her expression as the dots connect. Lily is just grateful that she remains relatively anonymous. She walks up to the Hat, placing it on her head as she elegantly slides onto the stool. A voice makes itself known.

“Another Potter, I see!”

“I’m not a Potter,” Lily replies as calmly as she can. The hat seems to chuckle slightly before continuing to speak.

“Of course.” The voice is patronising and Lily snorts. “So different from your twin, extremely different. Good mind, oh and that’s quite the memory. You've forgotten nothing since you were dropped off at the orphanage. Quite a bit of talent from the Occlumency wall up in your head right now, if you could take that down-- thank you. Ah, the purposeful revenges on the other orphans. Good control of your magic, I see- oh, there’s a thirst to prove yourself that’s for sure. How very interesting. Now, where should I place you? Though you could bear Hufflepuff, trust doesn’t seem to be your thing. You get along beautifully with others but seeing others as an equal could be an issue no matter where I place you. Slytherin will care the least about that feature but Hufflepuff will be offended.” Lily scoffs; obviously Hufflepuff’s “not her thing”. The last time she trusted someone at the Orphanage, they almost killed her. Accidentally, but still. “Now, the other three? A toss-up. You could be in Ravenclaw with your brains and desire for more but your ambition… that pure unrestrained ambition and resourcefulness is as clear a mark for Slytherin as is your knowledge for Ravenclaw. And your bravery, the pure stamina needed to survive that Orphanage, the morals instilled still, could easily land you in Gryffindor if you didn’t have the marks of the other Houses.” Lily barely hid a scoff. Did it matter? She just wanted to be here and press the re-do, which probably was barely possible now, but she was determined to still prove herself to be more than they thought she would be. Much more than anyone had bargained for. They would be learning her name in the history books centuries after her death.

“Oh, you remind me of another student from decades ago. He had much the same mindset… yes, I know where to put you now,” the hat exclaimed, “SLYTHERIN!” Lily winced slightly at the loud shout. The whispers had seemed to multiply. A girl undeniably similar to the Boy Who Lived, was a snake. Lily realised it was from prejudice and rolled her eyes before joining the Slytherins. There wasn’t much talk from them to her other than cool greetings so Lily merely kept quiet and listened, trying to pick up on House dynamics and character. She doubted they would pick on her like the other orphans, but she simply didn’t know.

After the Sorting, the Headmaster, Dumbledore, spoke a few words (Nitwit being one of them). Lily frowned slightly at the headmaster but otherwise revealed nothing. When the food appeared, she focused solely on eating well and listening to other conversations around her. When dessert appeared, Lily preferred to not touch it and looked up to see Professor Quirrell talking to another professor in black with a sallow, gaunt face. Her collarbone where the mark was throbbed slightly, much like when she talked to Professor Quirrell the first day she learned of the magical world. That was interesting and something she ought to research so she makes a note for herself.

Then Dumbledore rises, probably to make a real speech. He mentioned a couple rules, a reminder that the Forbidden Forest was, as its name suggested, forbidden, that Quidditch tryouts would be held soon and to check House bulletins for specific dates, and then the surprising bit came.

“And finally, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death,” he says, eyes piercing the crowd and landing on Lily before moving to Lloyd as if it had been directed specifically for them. Lily raises an eyebrow in surprise before the thoughts started running. More specifically, she began wondering about the Headmaster’s sanity, for who in their right mind would specifically mention such a prohibition in such a dramatic way in a school of curious magical students if he really wanted no one to be there? Other adults surely weren’t that stupid; the Matron wasn’t and going by Professor McGonagall’s slight frown, she wasn’t either.

After a few more minutes they were dismissed and Lily decided it would be wise to pay attention now so she wouldn’t find herself wandering a random corridor or having difficulty entering the Slytherin dorms.

She’s grateful that she did, especially when she realizes that the common room for Slytherin is, in fact, incredibly difficult to find and enter. Apparently, to even see the door, you need to tap a certain section of wall right in the centre. Then, the “wall” pulls behind and reveals a corridor leading to a portrait of Merlin who you need to convince to let in, followed by another corridor leading to a seemingly innocuous door. To get in past that door, you need to knock the knocker. On top of the door, the silver snakehead asks for the password, which happens to be “enchanted”. After Merlin, Lily releases an exasperated sigh. Who would even want to infiltrate the Slytherin dorms anyway?! But when Lily sees the common room, she decides even if the security is overkill, it’s worth it. The common room has windows which peer into the depths of the Great Lake which is surprisingly peaceful and she’s fairly sure she just saw a mermaid swim past the window and wave before disappearing. The decor is relatively well matched though mostly silver, velvet forest green, and dark woods, but the thing that really attracts her is the well-lightedness (though slightly greenish) and the large fireplace which has flames leaping about, casting long shadows. There are a couple of portraits and mirrors but the glass windows take up most of the wall space. About half of the windows have the dark velvet green drapes drawn. The chairs and sofas are all low, despite the vaulted ceilings, and the floor is carpeted with actual soft carpet. Lily decides that the overall aesthetic is beautiful, but what makes it better is the comfort. Before Lily can get too caught up in the common room, the girl prefect talks a little about the common room, curfew, and password changes before introducing the Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape. Lily recognizes him as the one talking to Professor Quirrell. To be honest, he looks completely bored and unimpressed with the first years. 

“There are several things you need to know now that you are in Slytherin. The other three houses will always be against you. Be prepared for this and for the love of God, stick together. Present a united front. I, frankly, do not care about your love of each other or individual quarrels; you abandon all of them when you leave the Slytherin area and you will always have each others’ backs. This includes telling others off when they do stupid things, but do so subtly. Other students from other Houses may prank you; I also do not care if you wish to exact your revenge. But do not get caught. If you do, I will play nice publicly, but you will get your due punishment later.” With those words, Professor Snape leaves, but not before levelling a glare at the two boys tussling behind Lily.

Then, the girl prefect directs the girls to their dorms and Lily moves out of the way right as one of the boys falls where she was just standing. According to the prefect, they would have individual rooms with locks unless otherwise requested, though the Headmaster, Head of Slytherin, and Deputy Headmistress would always be able to open it. At this, Lily beams; she rather likes her privacy, especially after the orphanage experience. Never again; she’s already made and finalized plans to live on her own at Potter Manor and communicated this with the Matron at Tanner’s Orphanage.

The room has much the same colour scheme as the common room which Lily doesn’t mind though she does put in a couple spells which essentially turn the torches’ light to the brightness of regular muggle lights and more or less copy-pastes the night sky with its stars onto her ceiling. She’d always wanted that. She changes her walls to a faint grey rather than the odd beige they’d been before and pauses for a couple seconds, thinking. With another wave of her wand, a couple succulents appear on the windowsill. Hopefully, natural sunlight would be able to filter through the lake and reach the plants, but if not she could artificially imitate sunlight.

With that she finishes the touch-ups to the room and the bathroom and rather satisfied with herself, she begins her before-bed ritual.

When she sinks onto the bed, she lets out a soft sigh. It was incredibly soft, softer than anything she’d ever slept on in her entire life. Lovely, she thinks without any bite, before falling asleep.


	5. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think there are grammatical errors in here... like a lot of mistakes with tenses since I just went back and did a brief check but there are definitely some which escaped my notice.

The Slytherin common room has a greenish tint even in the morning. The watery sunlight was greenish, much like the water surrounding the common room. It’s calming, though; the water and sunlight created ripply lights that were ever-changing but provided more than sufficient light. Besides, the inside of the lake was beautiful, and Lily doesn’t think she’ll ever tire of seeing mermaids, fish, and the occasional Giant Squid swim past the windows, which all have the draperies opened.

When Lily walked into the Great Hall slightly late and made a beeline towards the Slytherin table, she caught sight of her twin, Potter, glaring at her. Lily raised an eyebrow, not expecting the level of hate in hin already, though she was still trying to reserve judgment. His attitude, Lily reflected, is making this rather difficult.

As she sat down, only one person acknowledged her existence. Oh, that’ll change fast, she thought before the rest of her mind throttled the rogue thought. Lily returned the nod before reaching for a muffin at the centre of the table. Unable to reach it, she frowned, before pushing herself slightly up and trying for the muffin again. The boy who acknowledged her smirked and handed her the muffin, placing it on the plate.

Lily stared at it for half a second, unused to help, before her instincts kicked in. 

“Thanks.” She was aware of his watching gaze but for the most part ignored it as she listened to the other conversations. By this time, Lily was aware that the cause of her semi-ostracization was her last name. Her unknown, Muggle-like last name. That was good, as Lily had already reached the conclusion that she wasn’t safe; she had a murderous Dark Lord madman who wanted Lloyd, and to the same extent probably herself, dead; Albus Dumbledore was an old manipulative turd who probably would kill Lily himself if she didn’t pander to him and with Lily’s newfound power he’d try to snatch her power again; the Slytherins and Lloyd already more or less wanted her dead or at least didn’t really like her because of her heritage or looks. She finished her food relatively quickly, knowing that she ought to ease herself into eating her recommended amount. Lily was acutely aware of the gaze of a couple older years-- malicious glares, and she knew she’d be forced to reveal her own power soon. All because of bullies, they never could leave her alone, could they? She began taking preventive measures; she joined the pool of current first-year talk. Underhanded comments, subtly veiled threats, and a couple stare-offs which are obviously tension-filled and for establishing power, were prevalent. Lily found herself in her element and maybe it’s that which gains her the respect of her peers. Maybe it’s her posture, but by the time breakfast is finished, there’s a newfound respect for her, though it’s also a distant sort of respect. No one still dared to draw too close to Lily, which was unnerving to her, but it had its advantages. Now, if only I could figure out why.

An owl, an ebony black owl, to be specific, swooped into the Great Hall and deposited a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Lily’s plate.

“Oh… thanks, do you do the whole credit card system?” Lily looked at the owl doubtfully. It seemed to hoot an affirmative, so Lily shot a beam of silver magic to the owl’s left foot, which was held out in an obvious gesture to hurry up for goodness sake.

“You have… the Wizarding Credit system?”

“Yeah… there was a Gringotts break-in and they still don’t know who the intruder was. The vault had been emptied earlier that day,” Lily reported.

“My father told me it was vault 713 that was emptied, but it’s supposedly confidential so keep it on the down low,” Parkinson reported. Lily’s right eyebrow shot up.

“Did you say vault 713?”

“Yes. What, did you empty it or something?”

“I watched it being emptied. I wonder… does this have anything to do with the third floor corridor?”

“You’re not thinking about going there.”

“No, unless it’s absolutely necessary. I have no intention of protecting a mysterious package I don’t know the contents of from a mysterious person who is obviously powerful enough to get through Gringotts, avoid all the protections, and avoid the goblins. Who could even do that? That’s a feat I think Albus Dumbledore is barely capable of. Whoever could possibly match him… oh bloody hell. I think I know who it is and I’m not happy,” Lily frowns. If anyone was to break in and try to get a mysterious package and have a small degree of success, it would be the Dark Lord. Which means he probably knows it’s at Hogwarts and is undercover at Hogwarts… knowing his history, who would he be? Lily answers her own question in a heartbeat. Lily had done research-- extensive research-- on Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. The Defence professor. Meaning something is wrong with Professor Quirrell.

“Who?” Malfoy asked, curious.

“A particular Tom Riddle who was-- is, actually, a descendant of Slytherin.”

Not five minutes later, Professor Snape came around passing out schedules.

Upon receiving hers, she’d given a “thank you” before combing through her schedule, unobserving of his curious glance. She has Herbology first in Greenhouse 1 with Gryffindor and she smiles slightly knowing that she’ll be in Hermione’s class. Hopefully Hermione’s intellectual genius will be able to keep her from revealing her own.

Lily immediately swung her legs to the other side of the bench and stood up, knowing that her chances of not finding the greenhouses were extremely high and she ought to get a head start.

She went outside, figuring that that was where the greenhouses were, and frowned slightly. The grounds were too big to just leave a first-year floundering yet still expect them to be on-time for class. Maybe a ghost would be helpful.

With that, she turned back in and headed in the general direction of the first misty corporeal body she could find.

“Excuse me?” she asked. The ghost, a lady in flowing robes, immediately startled upon noticing Lily. Half a second later, her countenance was carefully schooled and if Lily didn’t have spectacular memory, she would’ve doubted that the lady was surprised at all.

“Oh. Yes, dear?”

“I was wondering if you knew where Greenhouse 1 is?”

“Of course. Right outside, make a turn to your left and keep walking until you see the greenhouses. The numbers are labelled on them.”

“Thank you.”

She left, striding quickly, and made it a couple minutes early. These were the times when Lily was grateful that even with her short stature her legs were longer and functional.

The greenhouse was rather large and humid. Lily didn’t mind the humidity; in fact, she rather liked the pressing warmth. In itself, Lily enjoyed the greenhouse, but the plants made its value much better. She’d never seen them before as they were all magical-- and all fascinating. Since she had a couple minutes, she made a quick round to observe all the plants. She was aware of someone watching her before turning around and coming face to face with the boy who’d given her the muffin.

“I supposed I ought to introduce myself,” the boy made an excuse, “I’m Theodore Nott.”

“Lily Smythin.” She took Nott’s hand.

“I know,” he let out a small laugh. “You were quite the hit during breakfast.”

“Believe me when I say it’s only among the first-years,” Lily replied.

The introductions didn’t make anything less awkward until Lily took pity on him and started the conversation. Lily decided that Theodore Nott was a very interesting person who strongly disliked his father.

All the Slytherins, when Lily returned, were whispering among themselves and rolling their eyes. Lily watched for a little while before deciding to increase inter-House bonding by sitting beside Hermione and Neville.

“Hey, Lily.” Hermione smiled though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Neville does the same thing.

“Have you seen these plants? They’re amazing!” Lily exclaimed, hoping that Hermione wouldn’t be so cautious around her just because of her house. Hermione relaxed a little, probably thinking that anyone who was so eager for knowledge couldn’t possibly be bad. Neville relaxed too.

“I know! A lot of these are really useful in potions and some of them have healing properties on their own. Some of these are also dangerous but they’re all really pretty,” Hermione said. Lily slapped a vine which was creeping towards Neville’s neck. “Like that one.”

“So that’s what it does. It didn’t reach out for my neck but I was really confused by that plant.”

“I know. Hogwarts in general is fascinating. I haven’t actually been much anywhere but Hogwarts: A History shared a lot about the school. Er, how did you find the greenhouses?”

“I asked a ghost. She was pretty tall and she had a long flowy dress on.”

“Helena Ravenclaw talked to you?!” Neville asked, disbelieving.

“Who?” Lily coughed in surprise.

“Helena Ravenclaw, daughter of Rowena. She was killed by the Bloody Baron in a forest in Albania. She never said why she was there though. She did tell us that the Baron killed her because she wouldn’t go home and face her mother and the Baron had anger issues,” Hermione said, “Not in those words, of course.”

“Helena Ravenclaw… the whole business with being in Albania is really interesting. There’s something… wait, didn’t each Founder have their own artifact?” Lily’s mind began creating faint connections with something of a lost artifact of Rowena Ravenclaw, but she needed more information.

 

“Gryffindor’s sword, Slytherin’s locket, Hufflepuff’s cup, and Ravenclaw’s diadem.”

“Tell me more about the diadem,” Lily demanded, forehead creased as her mind began whirring.

“The diadem is supposed to increase your intelligence. Salazar Slytherin searched for it after Ravenclaw asked him to.” Neville explained.

“Would that mean that the diadem was warded off from Accio and other Summoning or Location spells?”

“Probably.” Hermione watched Lily curiously.

“Then whoever took the diadem was magical and skilled in magic and most likely was close with Rowena. Now, who would have that motive?” Lily thought out loud but in a whisper. The connection strengthened, changing from faint wispy grey to solid black. “Helena didn’t want to face her mother, she was in Albania for a while and never told anyone why, and was most likely a skilled witch. Ravenclaw’s diadem is in Albania, probably hidden in one of the forests there.”

“But Helena wouldn’t do that to her mother, would she?” Neville protested.

“Who else could’ve? And Helena is a ghost, further incriminating her. She’s not ready to leave this world behind, and why? Either to keep the diadem from falling into the wrong hands or because of guilt. She’s not willing to face her mother even when she’s dying. She was close with her mother probably. And she most likely received a complex education and she seems to be disinclined to disclose her reason for being in Albania.”

“That makes sense, but I don’t want to believe it.” Lily let out a small laugh as Hermione admitted her reservation.

“I could. She probably felt overshadowed by her mother and believed that taking the diadem would make it better. Who did Rowena tell after her daughter left for Albania? Probably no one except for Slytherin near the end of her life.”

At that point, Professor Sprout arrived, calling the first-year class to order.

Hermione earned an inordinate amount of points for Gryffindor and Lily has identified Professor Sprout as one who was likely to make favourites, and make favourites known. Of course, Lily still makes an admirable effort towards the subject, earning herself a place in Professor Sprout’s list of approved people. It might be useful someday when I’m taking over the world, maybe, Lily thought jokingly. Professor Sprout ended up assigning them a footlong essay on Moly, which Lily learned about at age five by being fascinated with Greek mythology. Then she’d wished for a stem of moly and somehow it had appeared in her small hand but that didn’t matter right now.

What mattered was that nearly everyone was already complaining about writing a foot. When combined with larger than point 12 Times New Roman font, the foot long paper was less than a page. Most of the other Muggleborns seemed to have come to the same conclusion; Hermione was already lamenting about how she wouldn’t be able to fit everything on one page and had already raised a hand to ask if there was a maximum length.

“No, Hermione. There is no official maximum length but please do be reasonable; keep in mind that I will not read ten full feet on the properties of Moly.”

Lily sighed. Why did adults always think that children would do stupid things like writing a full ten pages on a stupid, though useful, plant? Then Lily caught sight of Hermione’s crestfallen expression and understood exactly why.  
\--

“I can’t for the life of me figure out where Genesis Potter is!” the old man exclaimed, throwing up his hands.

“Headmaster, you’re her magical guardian. I’m sure you’ll figure out a way.” McGonagall rolled her eyes. “What if, for starters, you contact the goblins at Gringotts?”

“Excellent idea, Minnie. No idea what I’d do without you.”

“Die, probably.”  
\--

“No information whatsoever on Genesis Lily Potter?”

“No. We do not track our clients, Mr Dumbledore. In addition, she has not visited her vaults nor has she set foot in Gringotts. We have no record of her.”

 

Dumbledore left Gringotts seething and worried. If Lloyd died, he no longer had a backup saviour, unless... unless he could rediscover Genesis Lily Potter and bring her back. Dumbledore recalled one sorting in particular which stood out-- Lily Smythin, but she wouldn’t-- couldn’t-- have changed her last name. She wasn’t legally an adult anyway. Genesis Lily Potter had most likely opted out of Hogwarts and now, Dumbledore had to go on a worldwide search to find her. He let out a hefty sigh.  
\--

Defence with Quirrell perked Lily’s interest if only because of the strange teacher who caused her collarbone scar to ache. And, you know, he might be connected with Voldemort.

She was sorely disappointed by the class but intrigued by the teacher; the stuttering mess she met was not the confident teacher who’d introduced her to the Wizarding World. Lily recalled that Quirrell had a stutter for a short time before he rid himself of it; was it possible that it was nothing but a disguise? And her scar only reacted when she looked to the back of Quirrell’s turban, a conclusion she reached through an inordinate and silly amount of testing.

She contemplated the teacher, his turban, his stutter, and her scar’s reaction to Quirrell as she ate lunch. Lily figured there must be a book on that in the library, so she hurried in to ask Madam Pince.

“Madam Pince, would you happen to have any books on scars?” she asked. “If, per se, a scar had an unpleasant reaction in near proximity with another specific person or if it aches at the same time everyday. I read a story about one of those types of scars and I wanted to know if it was a real thing.” Madam Pince shot her a curious glance but directed her into the correct section of the library.

After a while of fruitless searching, Lily was sure that her scar contained something dark that linked her to something the professor had. She’d come to that conclusion after every book on scars in the library, though there was one interesting statement she found.

There is an ancient story of Merlin and has famous left hand scar which had properties akin to that of a human Horcrux. This fantastical tale states that Merlin often felt the scar ache when in King Arthur’s proximity and through the scar could feel King Arthur’s moods. Why, they might as well have stated that Merlin had a piece of Arthur’s soul residing in him and left it at that, and even that would be so inherently unbelievable so as to render it nothing but a myth. Horcruxes are rare and human Horcruxes even more so. We will not dwell on this fictional scar for longer than necessary.

She made a mental note to research Horcruxes. Because what horrible luck would it be if her scar was actually just… a Horcrux, a Horcrux tying Lord Voldemort, who’s probably currently possessing Quirrell from the back of his head, to life.

Lily’s next class was also with the Gryffindors and she hoped with all her might that she doesn’t accidentally kill anyone if they chose to pick on her. She was obviously the weak link in Slytherin anyway and with House prejudice she was sure that they would pick on her.

“Ah, Lily Smythin. Did you know, my little sister had the first name. But I’m sure she would’ve been in Gryffindor, not whatever your snakey house is called,” Lloyd Potter said with a smirk. Lily held back a sigh; she’d been expecting this but not the moment she arrived in front of the dungeons, which had taken eons to find. And Lily was quite certain that Potter’s insults was one of the worst she’d ever heard. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco Malfoy start to move closer with a sneer.

“Malfoy, don’t,” Lily hissed out of the side of her mouth. Malfoy hesitated before acquiescing with a small nod.

“What, are you not even going to answer? I know your house values blood purity, so, Mudblood--” Potter began. Lily turned and hissed.

“Your uncle and aunt must’ve spoiled you so much for you to stoop to this point. You know your parents died fighting against Lord Voldemort; I doubt they’d enjoy hearing that slur come from your lips. Obviously you’re just a stuck-up pompous character who needs attention to survive at this point, good for nothing but being a pawn in the Headmaster’s game. I’m sure your twin, who was dropped off at an orphanage by the way, wouldn’t be too impressed with you.”

“My twin was not dropped off at an orphanage! The Headmaster told me she was with a Wizarding family!” Lily frowned at that. Lies, all of them. A distrust of Albus Dumbledore was already cemented now and Lily doubted she’d ever take anything Albus Dumbledore revealed at face value.

At the same time, the redhead, Ronald Weasley, charged Lily with his wand drawn.

“Take back what you said!” he demanded, looking for all the world an enraged tomato. Lily raised an eyebrow.

“Do you even know any spells? Come to think of it, do you even have all your books?” She caught the glimpse of several Slytherin faces full of glee as Weasley turned a glowing shade of crimson.

“What are you insinuating, huh, Smythin?” Potter asked with his wand raised and taking a couple steps closer. Lily’s right hand flexes imperceptibly as she switched on to high alert to slide her wand from her wrist holster if need be. Otherwise her stance stayed relaxed and she smirked.

“Insinuating? Whoa, big words right there,” Lily laughed. “Insinuating quite a few things which needn’t be asked about if one has a brain.”

Right then, Professor Snape exited the dungeon room to see Potter already brandishing his wand at a smaller girl-- Lily. She was practically a younger Lily reincarnate though with black hair. When she noticed him, she immediately assumed a smaller position and beckoned tears to her eyes. Professor Snape catalogued the immediate change in posture along with the new suspicious wetness in Lily’s eyes with a mental snigger. Lily Smythin might be the most Slytherin Slytherin he’s ever met besides Horace Slughorn. Oh, and he couldn’t forget Lord Voldemort.

“Wands out already, Potter? Thirty points from Gryffindor for assaulting a classmate,” Professor Snape commanded. There’s an outcry of protest from the Gryffindors countered by the Slytherins which promptly cut short at his piercing glare. “Inside.”  
\--

“I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death— if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.” Lily smirked at this statement; potions were the only thing she did not get to practise at the orphanage and she was eager to try her hand. And god how she wanted to learn how to “brew glory” and “put a stopper in death”.

His promises had been much more impressive than Professor Sprout’s-- she’d just said something about protecting yourself from dangerous plants and identifying useful ones.

When she tuned back in, the professor was questioning Potter.

“Potter!” he said suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Lily watched as he exchanged a confused look with the Weasley before answering. Granger’s hand is already shot up in the air and Lily exchanged an exasperated glance with Pansy Parkinson.

“I don’t know, sir.” Meanwhile, Hermione’s hand was straining upwards. Lily contemplated pulling Hermione’s hand down, despite Hermione being all the way across the classroom, but decided that she might as well not. If the girl wanted to dig her own grave in Professor Snape’s classes, Lily wasn’t going to try and stop her. And if Hermione really wanted her reputation to be Miss Know-It-All, far be it from Lily to prevent her.

“You don't know? Tut, tut-- fame clearly isn’t everything. Well, let's try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to get me a bezoar?” Professor Snape was clearly ignoring one Hermione Granger’s hand, but let it be known that Hermione Granger was not one to comply with the cold shoulder, as her hand only began waving more wildly than before.

“I don’t know, sir.” Lily took note of the agitation beginning to show itself in his dull eyes. She decided on one more question until he cracked. She also gave Granger one more question before she stood up and waves her hand around like an idiot. Honestly, did Hermione not think about the consequences of her actions? Lily doubted anyone was amused by Hermione’s need to answer all the questions. Meanwhile, Potter was very obviously looking anywhere but Professor Snape and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Malfoy was doing his best to not break out in laughter whereas Crabbe and Goyle were shaking with the force of their suppressed chuckles.

“Thought you wouldn’t open a book before coming, eh, Potter?” Lily noted Professor Snape’s continued brushing off of Granger’s quivering hand. If Granger was actually street smart, she would know to put her hand down now as Professor Snape had obviously already seen her hand… and not been pleased by the wildly shaking hand. “What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

“I don't know," said Potter. "I think you’re supposed to teach us though so we do know these things and besides, Hermione obviously knows.” Lily smirked, knowing that Potter was going to lose points.

“Ten points from Gryffindor, Potter. And Miss Granger… sit back down. I will not tolerate this behaviour in my classroom. Let’s try again, then… Ms. Smythin, I believe your recent introduction with the Wizarding World may excuse any incident in matching Mr. Potter’s ignorance.”

“Asphodel and wormwood create the Draught of Living Death, a dangerous potion which puts anyone in a near death state of constant sleep. If we were speaking symbolically, it means bitter regret for a death.” Lily paused at that to give Professor Snape a once over. “I’m sure that Mr Potter somewhat appreciates the sentiment, even if he isn’t quite as ingrained into Wizarding society to recognize the symbolism yet. And I’m sure… Miss Potter feels the same, wherever she is right now.” She inclined her head slightly before moving onto the next question. “A bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat and when traced back to its root means ‘protection from poison’ and can save people from nearly all poisons. There is no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane; it’s a plant which also goes by aconite and prevents a werewolf from turning during a full moon.”

“And would you happen to know the name of such a potion?”

“It was not mentioned in any of my readings.”

“It would not be unless you specifically looked for the recipe. It’s called the Wolfsbane Potion due to its main ingredient.”

“My god, she sounds like she swallowed a book,” Weasley muttered. Lily just overheard it and she raised an eyebrow at that. She was not Hermione, who reread books for the sole purpose of being able to repeat definitions word for word.  
\--

Lily knew that she had to maneuver herself onto Professor Snape’s good side; she wanted to learn the theories of Potions, like what a clockwise stir did as opposed to a counterclockwise, the significance of quantities and temperatures, and the qualities different ingredients gave to a potion. She was sure there was no book out there which did that; she’d searched every shelf of Flourish and Blotts and even went to ask Mr Borgin at Borgin and Burkes. He’d just laughed and told her to ask Professor Snape at Hogwarts.

So here she was, sitting next to Malfoy and making small talk, trying to pry any information she could on the Potions master out of his godson’s hands.

“So what did you think of our Potions class?” she asked after discussing nearly every other class they’d had that day.

“Brilliant. You really put Potter in his place,” he smirked. “Those tears were a nice touch, by the way.”

“Thanks, I’ve practised,” Lily laughed. “So does our Head of House just loathe lions?”

“Bloody hell yes! Every time he visits Malfoy Manor, I always hear about those ‘ruddy awful lions’ at least one time! He also eats all the dark chocolate and steals our expensive potions ingredients,” Malfoy laughed. Lily thought he’s opened up rather quickly and figures it must’ve been due to the whole spectacle where she called her twin a pompous brat. Or he’s trying to get on my good side.

“I’m guessing that’s what you give to him as gifts?”

“Dark chocolate, yes. Father says he takes our potions ingredients enough as it is and that’s our excuse. Honestly, I just think he’s scared that Professor Snape will brew some nefarious potion that makes Father die of embarrassment or something.”

“That does sound like something I’d do. Remind me to try it on your father at least once.” Draco let out a small yelp upon hearing the voice.

“Ah, Professor Snape. I was wondering if I could talk with you?”

“Yes, come.” He led the small dark-haired girl into his quarters, locking the door behind them. 

“This room is soundproof.”

“I’m going to have to ask that everything occurring in this room never reaches the ears of Albus Dumbledore.” Professor Snape raised an eyebrow at this.

“Very well. Continue,” he said anyway.

“My given name is-- was Genesis Lily Potter,” she paused to gage his reaction. His facial expression didn’t change, so she figured that he already knew. “I entered Gringotts and accepted Ladyship of several Houses and removed Albus Dumbledore as my magical guardian. While there, I found that my parents appointed for me a godfather. You.”

“James Fleamont Potter appointed me?” Professor Snape scoffed. “Once I get over that part, I will certainly take over the role if you wish me to.”

“That would be preferable. Technically I am a legal adult since I took up the Ladyship positions.”

“It was believed that Lloyd was the older twin. Were all the presuppositions wrong?”

“I accessed two Houses through conquest and the rest through a life debt Lloyd Potter owed me. I’m sure you can figure it out, Professor,” Lily answered with a smirk. There’s a pause, and then--

“Did the old man misidentify the Saviour of the Wizarding World?”

“Yes. You’d think that he’d be a little more careful, but he just saw the cut on Potter’s forehead and went. I have a scar on my collarbone where the Dark Lord hit me, so I’m guessing that he was aiming for my brother and one-year-old me, for whatever reason, thought it important to save his life.”

“So you are Lady of Slytherin, Gaunt, and Potter?”

“Gryffindor as well. Scion to the Ancient and Noble Houses of Black, Carrow, Lestrange and Selwyn and I think there’s an option for me to become Lady Peverell through some sort of test,” Lily explained.

“Hold on to the test for now; I have no doubt that it will be difficult, meant to weed out anyone but the best. They will become Master of Death if they pass the test, after all.”

“Is that story true? I thought it was just that, a story. But the goblins did tell me that Albus Dumbledore withdrew an Invisibility Cloak from my vaults.”

“I think I will talk to Lucius Malfoy and get him in contact with you. He can teach you some valuable tips for pureblood society. No matter how prepared you think you are-- pureblood society throws curveballs every two seconds.”


	6. Fair Folk Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Lily fight off some bullies (more like Draco jumps in once its safe but y'know, Slytherin characterisation is important too, even when it doesn't seem very kind or anything), Lily reveals herself as some sort of descendant of Slytherin, Draco and Lily have a talk which kind of explains more of the whole Muggle-born, half-blood, and pure-blood thing, there's some talk of genetics but it's been *three* whole months since I thought about the concept of genetics and stuff so there's *probably* some mistakes in the scientific terms used. Google helped me a lot when I was trying to figure out what the heck "epistasis" and "polygenic inheritance" was.
> 
> Also, the whole idea of the Fair Folk and their characterization was taken over from House Proud by Astolat (I think)-- I love that story and you guys should definitely check it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimers and the whole shenanigans again... and feedback is always appreciated! And thanks for everyone's interest and comments!

Lily settles in quite well, though she doesn’t figure out how to approach the subject of Horcruxes for a couple weeks. When she finally finishes planning out her request, she makes her way to the library.

“Madam Pince, when I was looking up scars I came across the legend of Merlin’s scar and the author compared it to a Horcrux, but I don’t know what one is. Would you have any books on them?” Madam Pince only gives her a curious glance before replying.

“Unfortunately Dumbledore removed all books on Horcruxes from the Hogwarts library at the rise of Lord Voldemort, so you’ll have to look elsewhere,” Madam Pince says, not really sounding sorry.

“Oh. Are they Dark, then?”

“Extremely. Now, I suggest you go find another place. Perhaps your Slytherin friends’ libraries would be a good place,” Madam Pince suggests. Lily has the feeling that she’s speaking genuinely, most likely because earlier that month she’d given Pince a box of dark chocolate.

“Thanks.”  
\--

Lily smacks herself, figuratively as she’s in public, on the head. Why she didn’t think of this earlier, she has no idea. But she owns the vaults of four houses and surely there must be some books on Horcruxes in at least one of them. So she sits down in the back corner of the library to write her letter.

Dear Griphook,

A rather pressing matter has occurred which has required my extensive knowledge on a particular Dark subject: Horcruxes. Books on these magical artefacts are nowhere to be found in Hogwarts’ rather extensive library, not even in the Restricted section, so I must conclude that someone, most likely the Headmaster, has removed them from the library. However I still must find as much as I can on this subject matter, so please conduct a search of all my vaults to see whether there are any books pertaining to this.

I feel as if it would be insulting to say that this operation must be kept under wraps but still I must say it out of obligation.

May your gold overflow.

From,  
Lily Genesis Smythin  
Lily takes the stairs two at a time to the Owlery. After selecting a pale tawny owl and making quick work of tying the letter to its leg, she sends it off. Gringotts goblins were often quick with their work, so Lily leaves the owlery expecting a reply very soon.

“Ooh, the ickle little Mudblood’s here! I think we should teach her a lesson about what happens to Mudbloods, yes?”

“What about no?” Lily replies, surprised by the attack she didn’t quite foresee happening this soon. She reflects that she probably should’ve considering the indicators which had been very up in her face; her rising popularity but steadily maintained distance had set her apart even to the teachers and she was well aware of Dumbledore’s worried glances at her when he thought she was not paying attention. There were, obviously still are, older Slytherins who disliked her sudden prominence, especially without any real power outside of Hogwarts. My charming personality must’ve been too much for them, Lily thought before scoffing at it.

“Yes, and I think we need all the little firsties to know to not associate with this worm,” the other girl snickers, a cackle which sounds a tad too close to insanity for Lily’s comfort. The boy, probably a fifth or sixth year, starts to drag her towards the Common Room. When the three aren’t looking, Lily smirks. She’s been wanting to try out a couple curses.

“Do I get to keep my wand?” She puts as much condescension into her voice as possible. When they look at her, surprised that she talked back, she continues, “You know, the stick of wood that we use to channel our magic?”

“I know what a wand is, Smythin!” one of the boys scoffs.

“And no, you don’t get to keep it. I see it looks quite valuable… what, were your dirty Muggle parents loaded? Maybe we’ll pay them a visit too,” the girl says. Lily rolls her eyes, careful to continue keeping her face neutral. She’d found that Hogwarts mostly taught Light and Grey magic so she’d done Dark magic on the side, early in the morning in her trunk to avoid detection, so her core could remain Grey. But during those sessions, she pushed herself to be in tune with all her abilities, including her natural affinity for Occlumency. It served her well in controlling emotions.

“Oh this? Ollivander gave it to me for the normal price, apparently the wand was made by the Lesothian hermit who gave it to Ollivander after a dream’s instructions. I’m rather fond of it, you see-- I don’t quite think you’ll be able to take it from me.”

“Ah, I think you underestimate us,” the other boy scoffs before kicking her. “See, you’re, first of all, tied up, and second of all, a first-year, and third of all, a Mudblood.”

“A first-year quote unquote Mudblood who Albus Dumbledore tried to put a magical block on at one-year-old,” Lily replies quietly, knowing the rest of the common room will hear her. More people are gathering now, eager to see the showdown between the new first-year and the three fifth-years.

Soon the dark-haired boy is moving away with Lily’s wand, casting a curse Lily doesn’t know what the heck is but blocks anyway. She decides to give the world a little bit of a shock. With her right hand, she thrusts out. Nothing happens, and she’s aware of the girl and brown-haired boy, Hornby, beginning to laugh. Lily just smirks; she’s not through yet. With her left hand, she beckons with her index finger and her wand jumps back into its holster in her right sleeve. Meanwhile, she throws up her right hand. Almost immediately all three fifth-years are buoyed up on water, all desperately trying to tread the roiling waves. Lily smiles up at them, an eleven-year-old perfect-toothed smile.

“In case you’re wondering about how I got that power, apparently it’s been in my bloodline for decades,” Lily lets out a small chuckle. “Shame, really, that you three might have to go. That was a very smart move; going up against a first-year to try and cement your positions.” The last bit is dripping with sarcasm and the three fifth-years flinch. “Anyone recall what their surnames are?”

“Hornby, Rosier, and Yaxley,” Draco Malfoy replies from across the room. He’s lounging on the sofa with a smirk (and a hint of pride, which Lily notices).

“Would you like to help?” Lily turns to fully face him. The other three fifth-years are still treading water five feet in the air. Malfoy stands up.

“Whyever not?”

Lily begins to flick hexes here and there. There’s nothing too Dark which could be reported, but there are a few which are Dark enough to garner attention. She’s well aware of Draco Malfoy on her right side, doing the same.

When she’s had enough, Lily meets Draco’s eyes for a second before inclining her head slightly. Then she drops the water and the three fifth-years plummet back to the ground. Draco looks for any trace of water, but he can’t find a single indication of what happened other than the three fifth-years who have a couple cuts, are soaking, and have some broken bones-- and bleeding from various hexes.

“Now, who wants to take them to the hospital wing?” Lily asks, eyes sweeping the crowd. Two first-years come up, Parkinson and Crabbe. 

“We’ll take them. We did just learn Levitation Charms,” Parkinson offers. Lily gives her a gentle smile.

“That’s perfect,” Lily says. She turns to address the rest of the room. “If this gets leaked anywhere, please believe me when I say that I will find out who told, and there will be severe retribution.”

“Yeah, yeah. What could a first-year do again, especially a first-year with no real world influence?” Lily turns to face the person who spoke, a poker face pulled on.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I am not a Muggleborn, if you couldn’t already tell by the display of Elemental Magic.” Lily inclines her head at the boy, smirking. “So I know Slytherins have brains, unlike half the school. I also happen to know that you all know the abilities associated with each Ancient and Noble House, so please use the knowledge. Which line, do you think, is the only line with the ability of Elemental Magic?”

There are a couple disbelieving whispers until Draco Malfoy sighs and answers.

“Since no one else is answering, do I have permission to spoil the secret?” he asks. Lily admires his ability to save face; Lucius Malfoy seems to be a good teacher and she’s eager for her next lesson on Pureblood society with him.

“Of course.”

“The Slytherin line is famous for not only their Parseltongue, but actually more famously known for their ability to perform Elemental Magic, an ability unable to be acquired unless through birth, meaning that the girl you all looked down upon for being a Mudblood is actually the heir to an ancient legacy which gives her Hogwarts as a property.”

“And seeing as there are no living relatives of the other three founders, it looks like this castle is a property which favours my will.” Lily smirks at Draco, inclining her head. In her mind, she’d already made the switch to Draco instead of Malfoy. It was awfully hard to keep calling one by their surname once they’d hexed three Slytherin fifth-years with you. “Did I fail to mention that Professor Snape is also my godfather?” She leaves the room upon that declaration, taking Draco with her.

“Professor Snape is your godfather?” Draco asks, brow furrowed. “And since you’re the Heir of such a prominent House, why have I never seen you at any Pureblood functions or galas?”

“Albus Dumbledore believed I would hate them so much he placed me in an orphanage and attempted to place blocks on my cognitive abilities, my elemental magic, and my magical core among other things. I learned of the Wizarding World from someone I suspect to be doing illegal activities, even now as one of our Professors, and since then have been self-teaching myself on Wizengamot, the duties of a Lady of an Ancient and Noble House, and investigating political waters so I have an ideology formed by when Wizengamot’s winter session commences. Oh, did I forget to mention, during that time when I was avoiding Pureblood functions and galas, I learned how to control my magic without a wand and threatened a couple other orphans with knives after they tried to bully me. I also removed Albus Dumbledore who had self-appointed himself as my magical guardian. This whole orphanage stint I was forced to pull was a direct result of the death of James and Lily Potter and me trying to save my idiotic brother who was then named Boy Who Lived instead of me, the Girl Who Lived to See the World be Idiotic. So then, upon receiving a legal adult status, I changed my name from Genesis Lily Potter to Lily Genesis Smythin in the hopes that no crazy Dark Lords or Light Lords would come after me.” Lily paused to take a deep breath. “And if that wasn’t enough, I need to learn how to act in pureblood society because that’s where I’ll be expected to be, and also learn how to behave in accordance with Magical Customs because I’m not one of those people who just barge in and demand older society conform to them instead of the other way around, and learn how to influence political arenas. Your father is a great help, by the way.”

“You sound like you need help.”

“You look like you’re still processing what you learned. By the way, I exchanged my brother’s life debt for ownership of whatever Wizengamot seats or other Ancient and Noble House Inheritances he receives, so when people gift him Wizengamot seats for supposedly destroying the Dark Lord, I get them.”

“Have you looked in your Family Grimoires yet?” Draco says. “What about learning Occlumency and other Mind Arts?”

“Well some of my inheritances include a natural affinity with Mind Arts, so I’m not too concerned with catching up for Mind Arts. I’ve already started building up defenses though I expect a couple changes. I doubt anyone can get through unless I lead them through.”

“A bit cocky, yes?”

“And true. I kept my walls simple; it’s just a black ocean. The time Albus Dumbledore took to try and get his bearings while there was enough time for me to locate and kick him out.”

“He tried to read your mind?!”

“He thought I was odd. Or, that was the thought he was projecting at the time I breached his defenses.”

“You… breached his defences?”

“It was a wall, which I scaled, and that guarded Hogwarts. It’s rather ingenious, actually. He knows Hogwarts so well, so it makes sense to have that be his defence. And that means he can also order his secrets accordingly; his darkest secrets are probably at the Headmaster’s office and as they reach the borders of the school, the thoughts become less important,” Lily explains. “What about Family Grimoires? Tell me about them,” she orders, leaning forward and pinning Draco with an unnervingly bright gaze.

“There’s not much to them, actually. It’s just a book of spells suited to each family though extremely confidential.” Lily cuts Draco off before he continues explaining.

“And by highly confidential, we mean that nearly no one ever sees the book except for the Lord or Lady and that family members only ever can read what the Lord or Lady expressly gives permission for and that no outsiders ever even touch it because if that were to happen, some blood wards and other protective curses would go off. Probably, by touching them, outsiders break a couple major laws as well.”

“The gist of it, yes. Some spells are exclusive to the family. The Malfoy Grimoire, for example, contains certain spells which are not Ministry registered and no one other than the Malfoy family knows them. However, it can also contain spell combinations, potion instructions, and magical theories. The Potter Grimoire, for example, would probably contain the recipe for Sleekeazy's Hair Potions. If you flipped back further, you’d probably see spells for pottery and ceramics. And you’d also probably find a couple specialized wards which the rest of the Wizarding World has no knowledge of whatsoever but would be implemented on all Potter Manors and properties.”

“That’s… that’s brilliant. During break, in between sessions of Wizengamot, I’ll probably retrieve them. That’ll be my Christmas present,” Lily smiles, the smile she gave at the orphanage when she found out she could leave Tanner’s Orphanage for a magical boarding school. “Now explain to me this: how do you learn how to read and write? We learn that in Muggle school, but obviously purebloods have a different system.”

“We’re tutored, of course. We’re also tutored in magical subjects, in languages, especially Latin, mechanical workings of the government, manners, and our parents teach us the mechanical workings of the political arena. They share with us our family secrets. My father’s probably teaching you those family secrets right now,” Draco smiled back.

“So he’s essentially accepted me into your family?” Lily replies, taken aback and an odd feeling of warmth and-- was that happy gratitude?-- overtaking her, before remembering her new status. “Oh. That makes sense, kind of.”

“Of course at the mention of a Lady Slytherin did my father immediately want to extend a welcome to you,” Draco scoffs. “He wouldn’t be an idiot. In fact, most of our Muggleborn prejudice comes from their complete lack of manners when they come into our society. They don’t even try to conform, just demand our adaptation to them.”

“Your father offered the same compelling argument, though it didn’t explain half bloods. However, he did offer another reason why purebloods tend to intermarry rather than permit a marriage with a half-blood or Muggleborn. We are descended from the Fair Folk, correct? That’s where all your customs and traditions come in, and if you have ancient Wizarding blood in your veins, the traditions come naturally to you. The manners and the magic as well,” Lily says, recalling how she’d torn apart practically every area of every library, magical and muggle, on genes and magic, and then went to the Goblins who had conducted an official study and came to disturbing results.

One, Muggle-borns were almost always descended from Squibs, not Muggles (who were descendants of Squibs). Two, there was a mutation which turned off a gene for having a magical core, which was what happened in Squibs, and in Muggle-borns the gene would be turned back on. Three, simply because of the nature of genetics, the families which were “pure-blooded” the longest also happened to be the most magically powerful because of natural selection or whatever. Four, if you did not have a magical core, your other genes for knowing tradition intrinsically would also be turned off in a fine example of epistasis-- or at least, Lily thought it was epistasis, but she could be thinking of the wrong term, and who decided to name all of these genetic principles so oddly? Five, the genes for knowing tradition intrinsically was something relating to polygenic inheritance, meaning that half-bloods could have the same instincts as a pureblood in that respect.

“Correct. And that balance was upset when Muggles began appearing, first as a genetic mistake. The gene combination they had was all wrong. We called them Squibs. At that time, we didn’t care, until we realized that marrying with Squibs lost the chance for someone magical. And the Squibs preferred to marry other Squibs. So we started the separation. Now we call anyone who is a sixth generation Squib or further a Muggle and they hate us. Even as children, they feel the difference in power between them and us, and they know that we are on the higher end of power. Take for example your mother’s sister, Petunia Evans. She reconciled but she used to hate Lily, and she’s not a true Muggle. She’s a fifth-generation Squib. Then there are your orphans. Of course there are always those Muggles which are kinder, but most of those Muggles are not technically Muggles but rather Squibs,” Draco pauses to take a breath, and Lily notices that his face is all odd angles but not really odd and his features are elegant in their own way, a way of sharpness and paleness and it’s strange but not much stranger than Hermione Granger’s face, Lily realizes, but the angles are dangerous, much like herself. Lily knows she has the same features-- the same elegant sharpness, the same oddness that’s not really that odd, in fact feels like home or at least much more home than Hermione Granger’s face which gives off no indication of danger, unlike herself… and the other Slytherins, who’ve all seemed to have accepted that danger in them, the sharp elegance and odd angles. 

“And the Muggles began to colonize. They began to cut down the woods and create rails and homes and aqueducts. And those of us that had too much mountain, too much attachment to the tree and spring and earth and much too wild to see and appreciate intricately worked metal arches and tanned leather and imposing castles of stone-- they left. They went under the hills in the west for a new world and they haven’t come back. The end result is here, with us-- and I know you’re one of us, Lily Smythin, trying desperately to continue our bloodlines and reduce the chance of Squibs, and everyone else condemning us. Half-bloods are more accepted now when they find their own instincts and don’t suppress them-- the pure rage and sharpness of the Fair Folk, and often those are the ones who don’t introduce Squibs.”

“Purebloods are really desperate. If they’re thinking in these terms…”

“We’ve had to think in these terms for centuries. There were a couple reprieves, like during the Middle Ages, during the Founder’s time though we looked down on Muggleborns for safety reasons at that time, and during Merlin’s time.”

“So you don’t look down on Muggleborns, other than the prejudice where they don’t integrate with society and bring Squibs wherever they go.”

“Correct. Otherwise, we don’t care about what they do. We’re fine with them having their own legacies and making changes in the Wizarding World, but we’re not fine with them tearing us out by the roots.”

“Is that where the term Mudblood came from? Because they bring the chance of Squibs into the bloodline?”

“Yes, actually. It’s not that we think that they’ll be less talented or something, except they kind of are in terms of magic and grasping tradition. They can match Merlin in new exciting discoveries of magic and we wouldn’t bat an eye more than if it had been a pure-blood.”

“That makes more sense than what I’ve been hearing from Granger. And you’re saying this is true of all Pureblood families, not just the Malfoys and Blacks?”

“Well, Sirius Orion Black was a Gryffindor, denied the Fair Folk instinct like your father, and enjoyed the company of Muggleborns who flaunted our customs.”

“Is he alive?” Lily asks, surprised.

“Yes. You’d know if you looked at the family trees you have in your activity log since Potter’s godfather is Sirius Black.”

“There are family trees and activity logs? Why the hell did that not come up in the pamphlet they gave me?” Lily finally breaks and she springs up to begin pacing. “I just sent out a letter for them to retrieve books on a particular subject; I should’ve waited to send it and added in the bit where they didn’t tell me about other aids I had to help me adjust.” Draco recoils slightly; Lily, he decides, is a force to be reckoned with when angry. Not that he didn’t already know that from her display of magic, but still.

“I’m sure you can pick it up during Christmas too; you don’t want them to be sending Activo Relatus-- sorry, you have more than one, Activo Relati through owls. It’s not nearly safe enough and Activo Relati are a lot like your Family Grimoires.”

“So, hoarded and confidential? Duly noted,” Lily laughs. Draco’s still receiving backlash from her 180 personality change. “Oh, by the way, I’m related to the Blacks through Dorea Black and that’s why you’ll sometimes think I’m crazy.” Lily turns to beam at Draco. “I prefer to think that I occasionally let out all my emotions in private and then reign them in just as quickly so I can be productive and a functional member of society.” Draco looks on incredulously before breaking into a laugh.

“Yeah, sure, that’ll work,” he replies, teasing.


	7. A Higher Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tbh I low-key forgot what this chapter concerns but somehow Lily gets on the Quidditch team and she doesn't like Quidditch all that much but Slytherin needs a seeker, like Gryffindor needs a seeker, and Lloyd witnesses something interesting but keeps his nose out of it, I think I should maybe rethink Lloyd's character and role because he has really bad mood swings (like he's overall very interesting and not in complete control of his emotions/faculties I think... I didn't write him like that he wrote himself... I'm not sure anymore)
> 
> Oh, and Lily makes a fluffy Cerberus friend while out on a late-night jaunt with Ron, Hermione, and Lloyd, who are all schooled in Light vs Dark Magic. Neville gets his Remembrall back and Draco is a bit of a jerk but he's an adorable jerk. Lily's working on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry I didn't post last week. It was Chinese New Year and celebrations and then my wifi cut out and *internally screams*. Anyway. The same disclaimer, feedback is always appreciated :)! and I think my tenses *might* be mostly correct this time! Cuz, you know, sometimes I take a break mid-chapter and then write the rest of it in the wrong tense and then bad things happen.
> 
> Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy the update!

“Have you flown before?” Draco looks up from the couch, gesturing towards a flyer on the Slytherin bulletin board. “We have Flying lessons with the Gryffindorks.”

“Apparently my father was a great Quidditch player or whatever. Maybe I’ll have inherited some… genetic… talent?” Lily offers. “I have no idea, I’ve never flown on a broomstick before.”

“But you’ve flown, I’m guessing?” Draco replies sarcastically.

“Actually, yes. I’m an Elemental, remember?”

“I can’t believe you’re actually serious. Did you know that L-Lord Voldemort used to fly around without a broom but with a large black cloak for intimidation points?” Lily laughs at that.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it sounds believable enough from what you’ve told me about the Dark Lord. Anyway, flying lessons. Are you looking forward to them?”

 

“Of course! I’ve been taking flying lessons for forever. I can’t wait until second year, when I can try out for the Quidditch team,” Draco exclaims. Lily laughs, remembering a couple choice stories where he nearly crashed into Muggle jets. Privately, she thought that it was rather dangerous as Muggle jets moved at an alarming 885 kilometers per hour. When she’d brought that up, Draco had laughed, saying that they had magical potions and wards for a reason.

Apparently, every story of nearly hitting a jet or helicopter she’d ever hear wasn’t nearly as frightening due to the fact that most of them went out with wards around their brooms, making it impossible for jets or other such contraptions to crash into young heirs.

She’d done some investigation after learning that and found the precise wards used and noted them to write down in the family Grimoires if they weren’t there already. No doubt they’d be useful someday.

“Alright then, I suppose we ought to get down to breakfast.” Lily sighs and begins walking down, trailed by Draco.

“So are you looking forward to Flying?”

“If I’m good at flying, I’m sure Potter also inherited some talent. So no, not particularly.”

“Oh. Well, there’s that… at the same time, Lady Longbottom told my mother that she just couldn’t let Neville on a broom for fear of what would happen, so he’ll probably have some nefarious accident to brighten your day… or your reputation, depending on how you feel,” Draco says, obviously calling her out on her “saviour” act. Lily could see Mrs Longbottom’s hesitance; from a few observations of Neville, she’d found that he got into enough accidents with both feet on the ground as it was.

“Hey, hey. I was the one who saved the Wizarding World from an insane mass-murderer. Stop calling me out,” Lily laughs as she drags Draco the rest of the way to the Slytherin table, though her sharp eyes don’t miss Hermione Granger frantically poring over Quidditch Through the Ages-- absolutely useless for flying class, if you asked Lily, because when you’re hovering 50 meters in the air, you’re not going to think of the rather useless tips of “grip your broom” that the book provided. Quickly scanning the faces of the other first-years, she’s aware of the same sentiment being expressed on a couple faces. Neville is hanging on Hermione’s every word and obviously frightened of just the thought of flying.

When they reach the Slytherin table-- late, as Lily reminds Draco with a raised eyebrow, all Lily hears are stories of nearly flying into Muggle jets or helicopters.

She ignores all of them, opting instead to eat quickly and review what threats she has on her so far.

There was Albus Dumbledore. He was suspicious of her, but she doubted he’d actually make any moves. As of now, he wasn’t a problem as long as she kept herself on the down low with her previous identity.

Then there was Professor Quirrell, and the more she saw him the more convinced she became of his far from innocence. Her scar hurt around the man-- around the back of the man’s head, to be precise, and she was quickly coming to terms with the fact that she was, most likely, a Horcrux. Judging from the stories of his later insanity, she was sure that she was one of many Horcruxes.

As of now, her game plan was if she ever ran across a Horcrux, which she’d identify by feeling the magical aura around it, she’d find a way to destroy the thing.

It was a horrible game plan, but the best she had with her limited knowledge. Now, if the goblins at Gringotts would hurry up with their books and if Christmas break could come around faster… well, then her circumstance would be different.

“It looks like Longbottom’s been sent a Remembrall!” Draco crows, bringing Lily’s mind back to the Slytherin table.

“Oh, it looks like he’s forgotten something,” Pansy says mildly, noticing the red. Lily rolls her eyes.

“Probably forgotten his courage; Remembralls have an annoying tendency to turn red at symbolic things like that. Though they are occasionally useful,” Lily replies. “Goodness knows with the upcoming flying class he’s nervous enough.”

“Remind me how you notice all these things?”

“Oh no, watch where Draco’s headed. Do I go after him?” Lily asks, watching his retreating back. Pansy just rolls her eyes.

“Go right ahead. Maybe you can keep him somewhat under control. Sometimes he forgets that he can’t bully everyone.”

Lily stands up, wills Hogwarts to subtly move her faster to where Draco is, and after a couple seconds catches up with him.

“So you’re planning on bullying the Longbottom scion? Can I point out that this isn’t your brightest moment? Maybe stop for some tea first, Merlin knows you need it.”

Draco, passing the table already, snatched the Remembrall. It glowed red before dissipating to its natural clear state.

“Nope, don’t need tea.” Draco grins at Lily as Potter and Weasley jump up. Professor McGonagall was there in a split second.

“What’s going on?”

“Draco decided to borrow Neville’s Remembrall to prove to me he doesn’t need to drink tea before doing anything stupid,” Lily answers before anyone else can, giving the professor her patented What am I supposed to hecking do expression.

“I was just looking,” Draco protests before setting the Remembrall back down and strolling away with Crabbe and Goyle.

“Sorry,” Lily looks up at the professor and shrugs. “By the way, Neville, the Remembrall’s probably a reminder to be brave about flying or something. They tend to remind you of those things instead of actual physical objects. Don’t worry about flying; I’m sure you’ll be fine.”  
\--

After Charms, Transfiguration, and lunch, a tight-knit group of six Slytherins began their walk outside to the smooth, flat lawn opposite of the Forbidden Forest. Daphne Greengrass was laughing at something Blaise Zabini had just said in response to Theodore Nott’s teasing while Pansy Parkinson was chasing Draco Malfoy as Lily Smythin watched the two and laughed. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle lumbered on in front of the group of six.

The Gryffindors didn’t arrive until all the Slytherins and all twenty-one broomsticks were lying in neat lines on the ground. After Lloyd Potter arrived, Madam Hooch makes her appearance with windblown, short grey hair and yellow eyes.

“Well, what are you all waiting for?” she barked. “Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.” Lily receives the distinct impression that Madam Hooch dislikes this class. She looks down at her broom with some trepidation; the broom is obviously old and there are a couple… kinks in it which she doubts helps with its flying abilities.

Madam Hooch doesn’t seem to care though, instead instructing in a rather loud shout, “Stick out your right hand over your broom and say ‘Up!’”

“Up!” comes a chorus of voices. Lily watches everyone else as her broom jumps into her hand. Draco’s gotten his on his first try, but it looks like Potter has too. Granger’s broom looked like it’d just rolled over while Neville Longbottom’s refuses to move. She laughs internally at the chaos and Granger’s disbelief that even after studying, flying hadn’t come naturally.

Madam Hooch proceeds to discuss flying precautions and then shows them how to mount the brooms. Lily reflects that maybe, just maybe, it would’ve been wise to discuss all safety measures before giving them a chance to even touch the brooms. Madam Hooch then walks through the rows, correcting grips. Draco had taken it upon himself to correct the less fortunate, namely Theodore Nott, who was apparently “holding the broom all wrong, Merlin, have you never seen a broomstick before? You don’t hold it like this--” here he adjusted his grip to how Nott was holding the broom-- limply, as if the broomstick was a rat he’d really prefer to not touch. Draco stares at Nott indignantly for a couple seconds, in which Madam Hooch comes and begins to correct him. Draco immediately brushes her off and corrects his grip before staring at Theodore again.

“See, Madam Hooch agrees with me! Your broomstick is not a limp disgusting rag! It is a broomstick which will give you the joys and experience of flying, Theodore.” Lily laughs as he says this.

“Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard,” Madam Hooch instructs. “Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly.” Lily looks at her broom, then at Neville’s frightened face, and decides she might as well not prepare because there’s going to be some sort of accident.

“On my whistle-- three-- two--” She’s cut off when Neville, nervous and jumpy, pushes off before Madam Hooch’s whistle blows. Lily rolls her eyes, thinking, ‘Called it’.

“Come back, boy!” she shouts. Lily detects a hint of panic in her voice while she observes Neville rising straight up like the fizz in a soda bottle reacting with mentos-- he reaches twelve feet, twenty feet, twenty five and Longbottom looks down, immediately pales further, and begins to slip sideways.

Lily knows he’s going to fall before he does and she promptly freezes the air around Neville Longbottom. There’s a gasp as he freezes. Neville Longbottom’s eyes look down to see Lily Smythin staring up at him, hands pulled up. He also notices all the Slytherins hungrily watching her display of magic, the Gryffindors instead focused up on him.

“Neville, I’m going to slowly lower you down, okay?” Lily calls up. This directs a lot of the attention to her, of which Neville is grateful. Lily slowly begins to lower her hands, still staring-- Neville realizes abruptly that she’s not staring at him, but rather… the air below him. “Okay, I can’t lower you farther down than this. You’ll be able to catch yourself, right? It’s only two feet,” Lily says. Neville nods. “Alright, be prepared in three… two… one.” Neville drops onto the grass as the solidity of the air beneath him is abruptly dispelled. Madam Hooch rushes over to him to inspect the damage.

“Broken wrist from a two foot jump,” she mutters, a fair amount of disbelief in her voice. “Madam Pomfrey will be able to deal with this quickly. Come on, up you get.” She turns to the rest of the class. “None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you’ll be out of Hogwarts before you can say ‘Quidditch’. Come on, dear.”

Neville, in a show of surprising hardiness, stands up with a few tears. His wrist is at an odd angle, probably from his landing in an awkward crouch. He winces as he stands up but otherwise keeps his right wrist still.

“Thanks, Lily,” he says, nodding in her direction before walking off with Madam Hooch.

Once they were out of earshot, Draco bursts into laughter. Lily just rolls her eyes at him but makes no move to stop the whole ordeal Draco’s planned.

“Did you see his face, the great lump?” Parkinson barely stifles a giggle though other Slytherins are louder with their approval.

“Shut up, Malfoy,” Parvati Patil snaps.

“Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom now?” Pansy smirks. “Never thought you’d like fat little crybabies, Parvati.” Lily takes note of the preexisting enmity between them and that Parkinson calls the girl Parvati, not Patil.

“Look!” Draco exclaims, darting forward and snatching something in the grass. Lily silently applauds his eyesight. “It’s the Remembrall Longbottom’s gran sent him.”

“Give that here, Malfoy!” Lloyd exclaims, surging up. Draco smiles-- an evil smile that Lily has to admire for a couple seconds.

“I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find-- how about-- up a tree?” he says after a moment of pretended contemplation. Lily shakes her head slightly at the idiocy. A simple Summoning Charm will do, and even Longbottom ought to be able to accomplish the spell.

“Give it here!” Lloyd yells at Draco’s figure on a broom. Draco’s a talented flier, Lily notes as he hovers level with the topmost branches of an oak and calls back.

“Come and get it, then, Potter!” Lily realizes what he’s doing; drawing out the Gryffindor to assess the new threat in Quidditch and Lily thinks it might be the stupidest risk the boy has ever taken. Potter falls for it. He grabs his broom even as Hermione Granger yells at him to stop.

“No!” she shouts. “Madam Hooch told us to not move-- you’ll get us all in trouble!” she continues protesting. Lily wishes she could sidle up to her and say, “It doesn’t matter because Dumbledore favours the Boy Who Lived and he can’t possibly move against the Malfoy heir. We won’t get in trouble.”

Lloyd Potter ignores Granger. He mounts the broom and kicks hard, soaring up-- and up, and Lily really hopes that he doesn’t fall because she doesn’t really want to save him. Lily realizes that there is a chance he’ll do that and the only way to let him fall without her catching him and having an excuse is if she’s up in the air, too.

She does just that, shooting Draco a menacing glare that asks why he felt it necessary to do this. Granger then turns on Lily even as a rousing cheer from the Gryffindors supports Potter. Ron Weasley lets out a whoop.

“Are you crazy? Don’t touch the broom!” she exclaims. Lily looks at her, then shrugs.

“Sure. I won’t touch the broom until Madam Hooch comes back,” she concedes before a wicked smirk appears. “I’ll still fly, though.”

“Bloody show-off,” Draco mutters, though not loud enough for anyone to hear. In very few seconds, Lily’s up at the same level. At the same time, Potter does a quick about-face. Draco’s surprise is quickly concealed.

“Give it here,” he called, “or I’ll knock you off that broom!” Lily has to conceal a smile at the threat. It’s more likely that he’ll accidentally hit her and she can claim her accidental magic created a wall in self-defence and really, it was just Potter’s fault for ramming and trying to assault her.

“Draco, when Potter charges at you with his broom, I suggest moving out of the way. My accidental magic has a tendency to get violent,” she warns quietly, the last part said with a small smirk. “Are you trying to see how he’d be as a seeker?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve figured out how to test it, so I won’t waste my breath.” She turns to see Potter rushing towards them. She gives him a bit more air resistance and moves to the side as Draco does the same though obviously waiting until the last moment. Lily gives Draco a patented really look to which he just smirks and gives her an air kiss.

There are a couple people down on the ground who are clapping and Lily itches to just petrify the lot of them.

“No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy,” Potter calls. Malfoy smirks in response.

“There’s a Lily Smythin though!” he responds brightly. “Politics means she won’t let me die, because she cares about the Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy! Now… catch it if you can, then!” he shouts the last sentence and throws the glass ball high into the air. Lily turns to give him a quick smirk which he would doubt was there if he didn’t have superior eyesight and he immediately feels a small sense of foreboding.

“Accio broom!” Lily casts as she hurtles herself towards the Remembrall. At the same time, a broom appears underneath her and she fully appreciates the thrill of flying. She readjusts her broom handle for the trajectory of the ball and in a split second she’s gathering speed, passing Potter while the wind whistles in her ears. When she passes, she gives him a quick grin.

Lily’s vaguely aware of a couple screams. She catches it right as its about to hit the grass before pulling the broom up to hover, Remembrall resting on her palm.

“Hey, Draco, never make me do that again please,” she says to the boy next to her. Draco shrugs.

“Well, if I ever become Slytherin Quidditch captain, you’re definitely going to have to do that again. Are you sure you’ve never touched a broom?”

“Never. Neither has Potter, for that matter.” Lily turns to him. “That was impressive flying, by the way. I have no doubt that you’ll be Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.” She gives him the smile that draws everyone closer to her-- her for sure effective manipulative tool. Potter smiles back, albeit hesitantly. At that moment--

“LLOYD POTTER AND LILY SMYTHIN!” Lily and Potter turn to see Professor McGonagall running towards them. Potter turns an ashen shade as he gets to his feet.

“Never-- in all my time at Hogwarts--” She seemed to be in shock, nearly speechless as her eyes flashed. Lily winces. “-- how dare you-- might have broken your neck--”

“It wasn’t Lloyd’s fault, Professor--”

“Be quiet, Miss Patil--”

“But Malfoy--”

“He’s not anywhere near his broom, Weasley-- unlike Potter and I.” Lily bows her head at the last part, the perfect definition of ‘contrite’. At the same time, she makes a quick flick with her hand, performing a wandless Confundus so no one remembers the part Draco played, not even Draco himself. If McGonagall was even a year less of an experienced teacher, she wouldn’t have noticed the flick and the sudden wash of magic. She raises an eyebrow suspiciously but realizes that it can’t be Lily’s fault; no first-year has the ability to cast wandless spells of such great magnitude. Perhaps it’s an errant wave of magic Hogwarts decided to expel.

“Yes, that’s enough, Mr Weasley. Potter, Smythin, follow me, now.” Lily keeps herself calm, knowing that the Headmaster won’t expel her-- she’s too suspicious for him to expel but not yet suspicious enough to warrant too much attention. She’s aware of Draco’s slightly horrified gaze though. She lifts her head just enough to give him a smile-- a reassurance of sorts. Next to her, Lloyd Potter is doing his best to not hyperventilate. He was sure he’d be expelled and he’d have let down the Dursleys again; he’d in fact promised to bring back his twin to meet them since Aunt Petunia had been so eager to meet her and he’d had to break to her the news that his twin was not, in fact, attending Hogwarts. Dudley, of course, had been thrilled, as he hated “freaks like him”. Aunt had reassured him that Dudley would reconcile like she’d reconciled with his mother, but somehow Lloyd doubted it.

He’d be forced to live with Dudley again. He had no idea why Dudley hated him so, but he did and now it was mutual loathing. Professor McGonagall didn’t say a word to either of them, though she did offer Lily a comforting hand on the shoulder. Lloyd bristled a little at that; how did Professor McGonagall so obviously prefer an unknown snake over a special one of her own House?

They marched up the marble staircase. Lloyd had to take much quicker and larger strides to keep up with her and he glanced over to see how Lily was faring. She was much shorter and probably had more difficulty. To his surprise, he saw her waiting at one of the arches, looking at the wall. When they passed under another arch, he was surprised to see her disappear. He looks around for her only to see her in the same position, one arch up. He shakes his head in surprise but continues walking; it’s not his business, he supposes, though he is curious.

Professor McGonagall stops outside a classroom, opening the door with a creak and poking her head inside.

“Excuse me Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood and Flint for a moment?” Lloyd was confused for a couple moments before he realizes they must be surnames. At the same time, he’s aware of Lily suddenly appearing on the opposite side of McGonagall.

“Follow me, you four,” she says once the two boys appear. They march up the corridor again, this time Lily actually walking though it looks more like the floor is carrying her as the tiles seem to reorder themselves and Lily pretends to walk. None of the boys, however, notice the floor’s odd behaviour. “In here.” Professor McGonagall ushers them into the classroom, empty save for Peeves, writing rude words on the board.

“Peeves, if you could give us some privacy?” Lily says, raising a brow. Peeves looks ready to respond, but an aura of Hogwarts’ magic seems to compress on him. The poltergeist looks at Lily’s staring eyes, gulps, and bows before leaving. He doesn’t speak.

“That was a miracle,” Professor McGonagall says drily. “He rarely listens to teachers, much less students. Introductions, I believe, are in order. Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood-- I’ve found you a Seeker. If you train him enough, he should be able to beat Smythin. Smythin, this is Marcus Flint. Flint, I would suggest you cast her as Seeker.” Wood’s expression changes from confusion to delight whereas Flint remains reserved.

“Are you serious, Professor?” he asks.

“Absolutely. The boy’s a natural. I’ve never seen anything like it. Potter, Smythin, were those your first times on a broomstick?” Lloyd nods silently.

“Yes,” Lily admits.

“She caught that Remembrall in her hand after a fifty-foot dive. Didn’t even touch the ground afterward, just pulled up in a hover. And Potter raced her for the Remembrall, didn’t even scratch himself. I doubt Charlie Weasley could’ve done it.” Lily catalogues that Oliver Wood now looks like all his dreams have come true as he pulls Lloyd away to talk. He begins circling around Lloyd, obviously judging his body build. She overhears the end of the conversation.

“We’ll have to get him a decent broom, Professor-- a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I’d say.”

“I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can’t bend the first-year rule, for Smythin as well if Flint allows her on the team. Heaven knows we need a Seeker compared to last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn’t look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…” Lily turns to see Marcus Flint smirking, obviously having heard the last bit.

“I was Captain of the Slytherin team last year, did you know? Our Seeker up and graduated last year so we do need a new Seeker. Last year Gryffindor didn’t even have one, hence the crushing.”

“Sh,” she shushes him, still listening to the conversation.

“Your father would have been proud,” she said. “He was an excellent Quidditch player himself.”

Lily tilts her head, thinking. Are you proud of me, parents? Or is it only Lloyd James Potter you’re proud of? I mean, I did change my last name.

When Lily’s mind comes back, she’s aware of Flint evaluating her.

“You’re awfully short, but you have the right body build for a Seeker. Light and it’s like you’re streamlined to be aerodynamic. I think we’ll get you a Nimbus Two Thousand, that’s the newest broom out there and the reviews have been phenomenal.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that malnourishment tends to affect height. Are you sure you want me on your Quidditch team? What if McGonagall was lying?” Lily asks.

“You’re holding the Remembrall in your hand, it’s hard to doubt her when the evidence is right in front of you.”

“Right, I forgot. Could we talk on the way up to the Hospital Wing? I need to return this to Neville,” Lily says. Flint shrugs.

“Sure. Have you ever seen a game of Quidditch?”

“Never.”

“Bloody hell, we’re going to have to go over every World Cup that’s happened in the past five years so you get an idea of strategy.”

“Why don’t you explain the basics of the game?”

“There are three types of balls. One Quaffle, a large round red ball. Three Chasers are responsible for trying to get that ball through one of the three golden hoops. Each time they accomplish that, they get ten points. The one Keeper on each time tries to keep the Quaffle from going through their goal hoops. There’s two small metal balls which are called Bludgers. Two Beaters on each team with bats hit the bludgers towards the opponents. Then there’s a small fluttering golden ball called the snitch; it’s wickedly fast and enjoys confusing the hell out of the Seeker by darting back and forth. You can barely see it when it’s moving. There’s one Seeker per team and whichever team’s Seeker catches the Snitch ends the game and gains 150 points. Whoever has the most points in the end wins.”

“So basically, the team’s fate rests on the shoulders of the Seeker?”

“If you put it like that, it sounds stupid, but I promise that it’s a fun game.”

“There’s no one else in Slytherin that can act as Seeker?”

“Nope. You’re really our best shot to the Quidditch Cup.”

“In which case I don’t really have a choice. And since I don’t want Potter to help Gryffindor win, Draco Malfoy has just coerced me into the Seeker position.” Lily frowns at that.

“Hm. Well, remind me to send him a thank you card.”

“Yes, please go ahead. By the way, is it considered illegal play if you don’t use a broom?”

“Ah, you’re an Elemental. I forgot about that… let me check, because you could always pretend to use a broom so as to avoid notice and a new rule being created especially for you.”

“Perfect,” Lily says, beaming. “Alright, you have to go back to Charms and since I’m already obviously a professional at flying, I will skip Flying Class and sit in on your fifth-year Charms.”

“Right. Nothing could possibly go wrong.”

“Exactly.” Lily enters the Hospital Wing and gracefully slides onto one of the seats next to Neville’s bed.

“Lily!”

“Hey, Neville. I’m sorry about the wrist. How is it?”

“All healed, though Madam Pomfrey wants me to wait. You have nothing to be sorry for; I’d probably be in with more serious injuries if you hadn’t lowered me to the ground.”

“As far as the rest of the students are concerned, that was accidental magic, by the way.” Neville gives Lily a curious glance but doesn’t press.

“Sure. So how was class after?”

“Oh, we didn’t finish yet. An incident did happen, however. Draco thought it would be a good idea to use your Remembrall to test Potter’s flying skills since he apparently had a talented father and Draco was curious how much talent Potter inherited. I doubted Potter’s ability and went after the Remembrall as well and caught it, so here you go.” Lily plops the Remembrall down on the bedside table. Neville’s mouth gapes.

“Are you serious? My gran would kill me if it broke.”

“But it didn’t! And as magical people, I, if not Draco, would’ve gotten the professors to Reparo it.”

“From how high was it thrown?”

“Roughly fifty feet, according to Professor McGonagall,” Flint butts in. Lily frowns at him.

“I’m sure it was just perspective. It didn’t seem that high when I was diving to catch it and besides, I wouldn’t let it break. You trust me, don’t you?”  
\--

“Where were you, Smythin?” Parkinson exclaims. “You never came back to Flying Lessons and neither did Potter.”

“I met with Marcus Flint and was coerced into the Seeker position. Draco, you’re going to have to help me with understanding Quidditch, by the way. Then I returned Neville Longbottom’s Remembrall, however useless, to him and listened in on fifth-year Charms. Professor Flitwick was surprisingly lax about all of that.”

“You’re the seeker?” Draco paused, knife of meat hovering. Lily winced when she saw it.

“Table manners, Draco… and yes.”

“But first-years never-- you must be the youngest house player in about--” Lily cut Draco off as she shoved the knife, on which the piece of meat was speared, towards his mouth.

“In a century, yes, but only because I’m younger than Lloyd Potter. He accepted his position a couple minutes before I did. I’d wager that Wood wants to keep Potter a secret, completely forgetting that Marcus Flint, captain of the team he has his first game against, was in the same room when he assigned Potter to be a Seeker.” Parkinson scoffs in response.

“For that, please call me Pansy.”

“Thank you, I’d like it if you called me Lily as well.”

“Why didn’t I get formal permission yet?” Draco protests.

“Because, Draco dear, you never asked and you never gave. It just sort of happened like it happens in most friendships. But we’re Slytherins and most of our friendships are not normal,” Pansy laughs. Lily grins in response, a naturally magnetic smile. Headmaster Dumbledore doesn’t fail to notice how everyone at the Slytherin table stops for a little moment to hear Lily’s laugh and then give their own smiles and laughs in response. Dumbledore suddenly remembered something else-- earlier on, maybe starting from a couple weeks back, Lily started having Slytherin bodyguards of a sort, as if she just rose to the top of the food chain in Slytherin. But no, that’s not possible. She’s a Muggleborn, for goodness sake! Dumbledore thought, brushing his concerns away.

“The Weasley twins just left. I think we should go--”

“Bully Potter? No, Draco,” Lily sighs. “All the teachers see you, you know.”

“It won’t be traceable and it’s just laying a trap for him to suffer tomorrow morning.”

“Never mind. Go ahead,” Lily says with a smirk. “In fact, is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah, go up afterwards and do your whole saviour act but also subtly encourage them to fight me in a duel.”

“Draco Lucius Malfoy, if this is what I’m thinking it is, you are going to die if not by Potter’s hand then by mine.” Pansy raises an eyebrow, staring him down.

“I’m not actually going to show up, do you think I’m an idiot?” Draco asks, affronted.

“Yes,” Pansy replies immediately. Lily gives a somewhat suppressed chuckle.

“Just go,” she says, shooing him away.

“Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?”

“You’re a lot braver now that you’re back on the ground and you’ve got your little friends with you.”

“I’d take you on anytime on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard’s duel. Wands only-- no contact. What’s the matter? Never heard of a wizard’s duel before, I suppose?”

“Of course he has. I’m his second, who’s yours?”

“Crabbe. Midnight all right? We’ll meet you in the trophy room; that’s always unlocked.”

At this point, Lily tells Hogwarts to spit her out to sit next to Ron and Lloyd. In a couple seconds, she sits down next to Lloyd Potter as he asks Ron a crucial question.

“What is a wizard’s duel? And what do you mean, you’re my second?”

“A wizard’s duel is exactly what it sounds like. There are, of course, special duels to the death, but I’m assuming that Malfoy means the more socially acceptable form. Either you can no longer perform magic, so in your cases, no wands, or you’re physically not capable of holding up. I expect the former, considering we’re only first-years with a month or so experience-- I will admit that Malfoy has a bit of an edge, coming from a Pureblood family with tutors and all, but you don’t have enough experience to seriously injure. A second, I suppose, is just him pretending he expected the acceptance. Seconds take over when the other duelist on their team is out. I do believe he expected you to refuse anyway.”

“Where did you come from?”

“The Slytherin table. Hogwarts as a castle likes my presence, I guess.”

“And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?” he asks, nervous. Lily wants to laugh but also sympathizes in a small way. He seems lost and confused-- then Lily remembers that he’s had his whole life to adjust to the Wizarding World and was just… unwise and didn’t.

“Throw it away and punch him on the nose,” Ron suggested. Lily comes to the conclusion that Ronald Bilius Weasley is worse.

“Excuse me.” The two boys looked up to see Hermione Granger. Lily looks up and beams at her, showing her the contagious smile. Granger smiles back.

“Why don’t you sit?” Lily says as she scooches over. At the same time, Ron starts to speak.

“Can’t a person eat in peace in this place?” Ron asks.

“Lily, it’s fine. I’ll be leaving for the library shortly anyway. And I must say, your flying was impressive. But back to you-- I couldn’t help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying--” she says to Lloyd. Lily decides to sit back and watch the scene unfold. No matter what Hermione Granger did, she would only be encouraging them to go to the ‘duel’.

“Bet you could,” Ron mutters. Lily rolls her eyes at him.

“You were a bit loud, I could hear you all the way at the Slytherin table.”

“Thank you, Lily. As I was saying, you mustn’t go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you’ll lose Gryffindor if you’re caught, and you’re bound to be. It’s really very selfish of you.”

“And it’s really none of your business,” Lloyd replies, obviously annoyed. Lily hides a secret smile, knowing she’s successfully accomplished her goal.

“Goodbye!” Ron says with fake cheer. Hermione leaves with a huff and Lily turns to them.

“I’ll accompany you, the castle has a tendency to favour my will. This way, no one gets in the way of the duel, yes?”

“Where will we meet?”

“The entrance of the Gryffindor common room, of course. I don’t think you’ll be able to find your way to the Slytherin common rooms, much less get in.” At that point, Lily disappears, only to reappear at the Slytherin table.

“Are you sure she didn’t fool the Sorting Hat?” Lloyd asks Ron.

“How she’s helping you after you called her a Mudblood is still beyond me. That was a really jerk term to use.”

“I know, I know. I was upset about her name and then my twin wasn’t there and I had to tell my Aunt Petunia that. It was a mess that day.”  
\--

Lloyd was having difficulty with his decisions, especially after Ron had told him to dodge curses because he’d forgotten the spell to block them, when Ron spoke again.

“Half-past eleven,” he whispered. “We’d better go.”

They made it all the way to the Common Room before they ran into trouble.

“I can’t believe you’re going to do this, Lloyd.” A lamp flickered on as she spoke, revealing Hermione Granger, wearing a frown.

“You! Go back to bed!”

“I almost told your brother,” she replied. “Percy-- he’s a prefect, he’d put a stop to this.”

“Come on,” Lloyd said, obviously choosing to not listen to Hermione. She followed them out of the portrait hole, however, chastising them the whole while.

“Don’t you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, you’ll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells, and I don’t want Slytherin to win the house cup.”

“I’m offended, I want Slytherin to win the House Cup and I’m still here,” Lily says, coming out of the shadows. She’d been listening to the walls of Hogwarts, telling the castle to move her to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room when Lloyd and Ron were out there. It had proceeded to show her a livestream real time of Hermione following them, as if asking whether she still wanted to go, even with Hermione there.

Lily was quite sure that Hogwarts was a sentient magical castle at this point.

“Where did you come from, Lily? I thought you were more mature than this!” Hermione begins chastising Lily as well, but Lily raises up her right hand to stop her.

“May I explain?” she asks. Hermione gapes at Lily as she begins talking, ignoring Hermione’s lack of words. “I am here to make sure that everyone is safe. Upon Malfoy’s request, I will be overseeing the duel to make sure all injuries are healed. Upon their request, I will try to ensure safe travel for them through the castle with minimum loss of points. Boys are stubborn. They would’ve carried through whether I was here or not, so I opted to be here as that would be safer than if it was just them. Yes?”

“I… I suppose,” Hermione concedes. She then turns to the two boys. “I warned you, you just remember what I said if you’re on the train home tomorrow, you’re so--” Hermione turns around as she says that, then sees that the Fat Lady isn’t there. Hermione Granger was locked out of the Gryffindor tower and she was not a happy camper.

“Now what am I going to do?” she asks, voice shrilly.

“That’s your problem. We’ve got to go, we’re going to be late,” Ron says. They didn’t reach the end of the corridor before Hermione caught up.

“I’m coming with you.”

“You are not.”

“Do you think I’m going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I’ll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up.”

“You’ve got some nerve--” Ron protests rather loudly before Lily slaps a hand across his mouth.

“Shut up! Let’s go before you get caught not five feet away from the Gryffindor common room.”

“Fine. If you get us caught, I’ll never rest until I’ve learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about and used it on you,” Ron says, glaring at Hermione. Lily snorts.

“Let’s go before I, or Hermione, gives you a lecture on that particular bogus curse.” Lily beckons the four of them forward. Their path is a strange path which only Hermione seems to notice, but when she opens her mouth to ask, Lily just replies “The castle favours my will, remember?” and continues.

They reach the trophy room right on time. A couple minutes later, Ron shares his thoughts.

“He’s late, maybe he’s chickened out.” Lily’s hand is on the wall, following Filch and Mrs Norris’ progress but she’s also scanning the trophy room. One in particular stands out-- a Special Award for Services to the School to Tom Marvolo Riddle. There’s no description, but Lily makes note of it to ask Mr Malfoy later at their next meeting in two days.

“Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner.” Filch’s voice inspires immediate terror for Ron, Lloyd, and Hermione. Lily rolls her eyes and gestures them out of the trophy room.

“Come on, let’s go before he finds us!” Lily protests loudly, throwing her voice to the corridor. Filch begins to head in the opposite direction. She winks at Hermione, who looks shocked, and mouths to them “This way!”

They crept through a line of suits of armour. Immediately, Lily can see the catastrophe before it happens. Ron lets out a somewhat frightened squeak and breaks into a run, tripping and toppling through a suit of armour. Lily winces at the clanging.

“Come on. Hurry, this time ventriloquist abilities will fool no one,” she orders. Lloyd looks like he’s about to protest but at one of her death glares, Lloyd follows her. She sprints through the corridors in the lead, begging Hogwarts to lead her to a secret passageway or something.

She follows the small silver light, sure it’s from Hogwarts’ spirit, which leads her to the front of a tapestry which seems to be trying to imitate the Bayeux Tapestry. Lily lifts up the edge of it, revealing a secret passageway.

“In, all of you.” She shoves the other three first-years into the passageway. Hurtling along it, they found themselves in a silent Charms classroom. “Perfect, that’s far from the trophy room. It’s also far from the Gryffindor tower but I think we can approach the tower from an opposite side. Let’s go.”

Lily knew it wasn’t going to be simple, even with Hogwarts’ help. They maybe took a dozen steps before a doorknob rattled and something came shooting towards them.

It was Peeves. Lily decided to fade into the shadows; she wanted to see how they dealt with him.

He caught sight of the other three first-years and gave a squeal of delight.

“Shut up, Peeves-- please-- you’ll get us thrown out.”

Peeves cackled.

“Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you’ll get caughty.”

“Not if you don’t give us away, Peeves, please,” Hermione pleads.

“Should tell Filch, I should,” Peeves says with a wicked gleam in his eyes but imitating a saint. “It’s for your own good, you know.”

“Get out of the way,” Ron snaps, finally breaking and taking a swipe at Peeves. A mistake, which Lily sighs at. Ron, she decides, needs a class in how to de-escalate a situation. Lily hopes it’s not a mistake of the whole Weasley family.

“STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRI--!” Peeves bellows, abruptly pausing when Lily emerges from the shadows.

“Now, now, Peeves, we can’t have that,” she smirks at the poltergeist, who’s turned pale. 

“I’m sorry! Don’t evict me, I won’t bother them again--”

“Oh no, I don’t want you to not bother them… in fact, I will admit that Weasley needs a class in how to de-escalate a situation. But I do want you to not bother me, which you’ve just done. When Filch comes running here, you will direct him the opposite direction of where we ran,” Lily finishes with an angelic smile. “Is that clear?”

“Yes, yes, of course!”

“I want you to stall him as well, in the most annoying way you know how.” The last sentence is spoken with a genuine smile which Peeves takes note of. He gives his own gleeful smile in return. 

She turns back to the other three and leads them to the end of the corridor… to a locked door.

“This is it! We’re done for! This is the end!” Ron bewails. Lily turns to give Peeves an exasperated look and he just grins. She could hear Filch’s heavy footsteps.

“Hermione, would you like to do the honours?” Lily asks, nodding towards the door.

“Move over, Ronald!” Hermione instructs before grabbing Lloyd’s wand. She taps the lock and whispers “Alohomora!”

“Beautifully done, let’s go in. Please don’t freak out, by the way,” Lily says. She closes the door behind them and immediately walks towards where she knows the creature is. He’s sleeping, but he’ll wake soon.

She also knows that it’s a Cerberus which has its own tendency to enjoy being in the company of other grey creatures and water. Lily ignores the sounds of Filch’s cursing, knowing for sure that Peeves has complied with her demands.

“He thinks this door is locked,” Lloyd whispers. “I think we’ll be okay-- get off, Ron! What is it?”

“Oh, it’s just a Cerberus. Calm down. I’m sure it’s just thirsty,” Lily says. “Besides, he won’t harm you, I think… if I make it clear enough.”

“What?”

“It’s a Cerberus, a creature with a grey core. It likes other Grey cores. Lucky for you, I happen to have a pure Grey core. Cerberuses also enjoy water and it’s obvious this one hasn’t been fed or drank water for a while. They’re very smart creatures and if you can read minds, you can communicate with them,” Lily instructs. She sits cross-legged in front of the Cerberus.

“Hi, buddy. I suppose I can’t get your name, can I?” There’s a short pause. “Oh, it’s Fluffy… who named you that? Yes, Fluffy, you are adorable. You’re also very big and you can be very scary if you want to be. Do you want water?” Another pause as Lily creates a stone basin and fills it with water. “Is that good? It’ll refill when it’s empty, don’t worry. Yes, I’ll visit you but now we have to go. We’re at a school and we can’t be up past a certain time and we’re currently pushing it. Oh… thank you for the warning. Could you tell me who comes to try and bother you? Even the ones that know about music. It’s very important.” Another pause. “Thank you, sweetie.” Lily stands and strokes each head a couple times before saying goodbye and ushering the other three outside.

“Explain the Cores to me, please,” Hermione exclaims once they’re out of the third floor corridor.

“I’ll give you the book tomorrow,” Lily promises.

“Is it like Light cores are good, Dark cores are bad, and Grey cores are just… neutral?” Ron asks. Lily rolls her eyes.

“No. They’re just cores. They correspond with types of spells. For example, a Light core will be more easily able to cast Light spells than Dark spells and vice versa. The same goes for Grey spells, which both Light and Dark core wizards can accomplish. And before you ask, no, not all Dark spells are bad and not all Light spells are good. It’s the intent of the wizard that matters, not the spell they use. Vulnera Santur is a Dark spell to heal, made for people who have Dark cores. It has the exact same effect as Epsikey,” Lily lectures. “And now you really need to get back to Gryffindor tower. I may be able to function on very little sleep, but you three will have a terrible morning ahead.”

They ran. The Fat Lady appraised them with their flushed faces.

“Where on earth have you all been?” she asks.

“Never mind that-- pig snout, pig snout,” Lloyd pants and tumbles into the Common Room. The portrait closes and the Fat Lady notices a girl wearing black jeans and a white shirt.

“They went on a late-night adventure into the third floor corridor. Honestly, Dumbledore should’ve never even mentioned the corridor if he didn’t want kids to go there,” the girl intones before fading away. The Fat Lady notices the imprint of Hogwarts’ magic on where the girl disappeared and she smiles slightly.

Merlin knew how much Hogwarts needed at least one Lady back at the school.

Meanwhile, there was a far from joyous story playing out in the Gryffindor common room.

“What do they think they’re doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron says, the first to break the silence. “If any dog needs exercise, that one does.” Hermione rolls her eyes before speaking.

“You don’t use your eyes, any of you, do you? Didn’t you see what it was standing on?”

“The floor? I wasn’t looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads. And then Lily sat down and did whatever the heck and we were alive,” Lloyd replies to Hermione’s annoyed question.

“No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor, which Lily obviously noticed if the way she told the dog to alert her to anyone who tried to get in was any indication,” Hermione snorts. “It’s obviously guarding something important.” She stands up, giving the two boys scathing glares.

“I hope you’re pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed-- or worse, expelled. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to bed.”

“No, we don’t mind… you’d think we dragged her along!” Ron protests upon her exit.  
\--

The next morning dawns and Draco waits for Lily in the common room. Instead of Lily appearing from the general direction of the girl’s rooms, she comes in through the portrait hole.

“What happened?” he asks.

“I had an enlightening talk with a Cerberus,” Lily says, but doesn’t elaborate. Draco doesn’t ask her to, only briefly hugs her and hands her a mug of coffee.

“Thanks.”

When they enter the Great Hall, Lily is aware of Dumbledore looking at her, probably trying to catch her eyes so he can read her mind.

She listens in on the various conversations occurring. Lily’s sure that Potter and Weasley are having their own discussion about the Cerberus and she rather wants to listen in, so she does, casting a quick spell.

“It’s either really valuable or really dangerous.”

“Or both.”

Lily figures that they’re discussing what the dog is guarding. Of course Hermione shared that knowledge with them.

“Oh, that reminds me! I’ve got to get my book on Magical Cores to Granger.” Draco frowns at her when Lily says that. Lily shrugs. “I’m trying to get on her good side so she can be converted. She’s never been properly introduced to the Wizarding World like you have and I am currently going through.”

“So you’re giving her books?”

“What else do I give the know-it-all of our classes?” Pansy snorts at that.

When Lily goes over, she’s aware of a large commotion where Potter and Weasley are sitting. Over the heads of a couple people, she catches sight of a package that looks suspiciously like a broomstick. Lily rolls her eyes, ignoring it, and goes to meet Hermione.

“Hermione, the book,” Lily says, handing Common Misperceptions of Magical Cores to the girl.

“Thank you. Do you know what’s going on there?”

“Unfortunately. I would suggest not going after them to chastise them… they won’t face too severe of a consequence due to the whole Boy Who Lived thing, a thing which while may not be fair is a thing Albus Dumbledore is very well aware of and must comply to.”

“But…”

“Take my advice, please. Remember, I’m a Slytherin. And from a Slytherin friend to another friend, that’s my input.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I learned. Before I even went to Gringotts, I stopped by Flourish and Blotts and read through Goblin customs.”

“But it’s silly to expect Muggleborns to learn all about Wizarding culture in a month.”

“It is. Which is why there are currently bills being drafted in preparation for Wizengamot’s winter lawmaking session.”

“How do you know this?”

“That, Hermione, is my own secret.” Lily leaves before Hermione pries further, excusing herself with a “Oh, that must be my owl. Well, I’ll see you later!”

“How was it?”

“Horrible. I think she’s the type of person that’ll want to free house elves if no one stops her early enough,” Lily sighs as she plops down on her seat. “Oh, thanks Ebony.” The owl hoots and takes off as Lily grabs the stack of books and begins marching back to the Slytherin common room.

“Do you think she’s ever going to rest?” Pansy sighs, looking at the small girl’s back.  
\--

Lily winces the more she reads about Horcruxes. They’re extremely dark objects, which she already knew, but now she knows exactly what is going on with Quirrell and her scar and she’s sure there are other Horcruxes out there. Lord Voldemort would not have just accidentally created a Horcrux out of her, and the fact that he accidentally created a Horcrux at all was a testament to his soul’s instability.

She rather felt like crying; she had a bit of Voldemort’s soul attached to her and she needed it out. The only things she could think of were binding a dementor to herself and forcing it to suck out Voldemort’s soul and only Voldemort’s or… stabbing her collarbone with a basilisk fang, then drinking antivenom after Voldemort’s soul died. It seemed to be contained in the scar itself, not the rest of her body, so it wasn’t like her entire body was the soul container.

God, she bloody hated Dark Lords who didn’t really understand pureblood ideology and became insane mass murderers and messed up her life by accidentally making people Horcruxes.

So, really, she only bloody hated one Dark Lord by the name of Lord Voldemort.

Lily rolled her eyes and opted to go back to classes instead of thinking on the mess that was her life. Besides, Flint and Draco had roped her into watching replays of old Quidditch matches later, so she wouldn’t have proper time to figure everything out.  
\--

When Lily brought up the Special Service to the School Award with Mr Malfoy, he’d launched into an explanation of the Chamber of Secrets, including the attack which happened fifty years ago.

Lily is, safe to say, intrigued. She learned that the name of the girl attacked was Myrtle, which instantly rang a bell.

Needless to say she spent the rest of that day in the Chamber, avoiding the very much alive basilisk while reading all the books she could. They talked about everything from magical theory to Parselmagic and some were Salazar’s own notes. And when she leaves, she also knows about how, as Lady of the Slytherin House, she can extract the Horcrux without killing herself. All she had to do was recall the magic done by one Dark Lord who went by Tom Marvolo Riddle. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that with the other Horcruxes unless they were in her presence since the magic of the previous Horcruxes were done before she was considered to have defeated Tom Riddle and been Lady of the Slytherin and Gaunt Houses.

That was infuriating to her. The only thing stopping her from ridding herself of the Horcrux at that moment was her uncertainty regarding the traits of Parseltongue and Elemental Magic; she wasn’t sure whether she had those abilities as a result of conquering or as a result of the Horcrux.


	8. Samhain Favours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco learns how to box, trolls are defeated, and a Quidditch game which results in a very annoyed Lily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Another update has come, and again, all feedback is appreciated! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy :)

Pansy Parkinson knocked on Lily Genesis Smythin’s door. It was opened by a girl with two streaks of blood painting her high cheekbones which reminded Pansy of the portraits of Dorea Black hanging in Parkinson Manor. The doorknob, Pansy noticed, was bloody and she came to the conclusion that Lily was preparing for Samhain rituals. She still had no idea how Lily had managed to opt out of the Hogwarts Halloween Feast, which was mandatory for nearly everyone unless you were sick or had express permission.

“I… sorry, I would invite you to come in, but…” Lily gestures helplessly. “I just finished purifying the room.”

“Ah… I’ll stay outside.” Pansy winces slightly, recalling how purifying the room was done. It involved a whole lot of blood, if she recalled correctly. “I thought you should know that Hermione Granger was apparently taken down a few notches by a particular redhead Weasley in the same year and since the Charms class, she’s been hiding out in the girl’s bathroom, crying. Since you seem to find a continual need to associate with her, I thought you’d appreciate the tidbit.”

“Ah, I’ve explained! She’s brilliant with homework help and believe me when I say that political power includes an extensive knowledge. She’s practically my library.”

“You’re practically your own library, Smythin. None of us buy the homework help thing, if you want us to buy it you’ve got to stop showing her up in class,” Pansy replies rather candidly. Lily lets out a chuckle.

“I’ll check on her, I suppose, though I need to get the blood off my face before I see her. She’s… like your typical Muggleborn.” Lily winces as she says it. “I’m working on her.” Pansy’s face which had contorted itself into something that looked like she was trying to not grimace and spit in disgust, relaxed when Lily offered her best reassurance.

“Alright, well, good luck with whatever spirits you try to contact tonight,” Pansy says, offering her genuine well wishes.

Any half-blood who had the patience and pain endurance to participate and even initiate in Samhain rituals was integrated enough in pureblood society for her.  
\--

Lily rests her hand on the side of Hogwarts’ walls and immediately notices something very wrong. A Dark and dangerous creature is in Hogwarts, relatively close to the girl’s bathroom where Hermione is camping out. Well, there was also that dangerous Grey creature in the third-floor corridor, but that was besides the point as obviously that creature was trapped. All Lily can do at this point is sigh.

She does not have time to wipe the blood off her face if she wants Hermione Granger to live. Lily wonders for a split second why, exactly, she wants Hermione Granger to be alive, until she remembers that Granger is the only other intellectual in her grade and, if for anything else, saving Hermione will give a boost to Lily’s already blooming reputation-- created mostly by helping various first-years from various Houses on homework, cleaning up accidents, and saving the occasional Gryffindor.

Only Dumbledore is still suspicious of her at this point, which is vaguely annoying, but Professor McGonagall has already taken her in as an honorary Gryffindor.

So Lily wills Hogwarts to spit her out wherever Hermione Granger is currently located, and the wall sucks her in and does her will. Lily is placed at the entrance of the girl’s bathroom.

She turns to see Lloyd Potter and Ronald Weasley herding the troll towards the girl’s bathroom.

Those idiots, they’re going to trap Granger in with the troll and while she may be brilliant, she is far from street smart, Lily thinks. She can’t really throwdown with the troll here, in such an open area, so she backs up into the bathroom and lets the troll enter. She hears the bathroom door slam shut and sighs of relief on the other side of the door.

Lily’s aware she has roughly a minute to make this happen before the two idiots barge in.

“Granger?”

“Leave me alone, whoever you are,” Hermione says, sniffling. Lily rolls her eyes, asks Lady Magic for patience, and opens the stall door.

“Hermione, come out. What happened?”

“Lily? Wait, what happened to you?”

“Samhain happened, and then Parkinson alerted me to your predicament,” Lily says, looking at the bushy-haired girl, unimpressed. “So tell me, because somehow I doubt anything but a large-scale event could upset someone like you.” She’s aware that her words have their intended effect; Hermione immediately stiffens her lip and her eyes start blazing again.

“It was pretty stupid, actually. Ron said it made sense why I didn’t have friends after I helped him with the Wingardium Leviosa charm. He got upset when I corrected him and he told me to do it then, if I was so clever, and I did.”

“I deem his uncharacteristic behaviour to be jealousy for your natural affinity with magic.” Lily cracks a grin. Hermione smiles back.

“Alright, I suppose I’ve moped long enough for his comments.”

“False comments as well, if you’d do the honour of being my friend,” Lily says, smirking. Hermione laughs.

“Of course. Let’s get out.”

“About that, there’s a troll out there… and I think it’s just scented us,” Lily replies, staying relatively calm. Hermione, on the other hand, begins to freak out.

“WHAT?” she screams, rather loudly. Lily rolls her eyes.

“Calm down, Hermione. I promise we will both make it out of here alive, and Slytherins don’t make promises they can’t keep.”

“How?”

“Magic, you know, the thing we study at this school.” Lily exits the stall, Hermione cautiously following. Lily knows that soon the two idiotic boys will barge in and try to help.

They’re not going to help, of that much Lily is sure.

“Stupefy,” Lily casts the moment she catches sight of the troll. It falls over immediately and Lily pauses to watch the creature. “It’ll only be out for a couple minutes, tops, so I think we’ll need to bind it. Do you know the spell?”

“Is there even a spell?”

“Incarcerous.” Lily jabs her wand at the mountain troll and ropes appear. “You try.”

“Incarcerous,” Hermione repeats, a little hesitantly. The ropes fail to appear.

“Try again, and this time jab with your wand.”

“Incarcerous!” Hermione says with more confidence, jabbing her wand as instructed, and another set of ropes bind the troll.

Lily subtly flicks a Strengthening Charm at the ropes and tries to remember spells which knock trolls out for longer than just five minutes. Maybe she should just drop a block of stone on the troll’s head. The more she thinks about it, the more appealing it seems.

When the troll wakes up, she does just that. At the same time, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick appear in the door along with a sheepish Ron Weasley and Lloyd Potter.

“What happened here?” Professor McGonagall asks, trying very hard to not express shock at the block of stone sitting on the troll’s head. Professor Snape turns to look at his goddaughter, who wears an innocently fierce expression. He sighs. At this point he just wanted to retire, goddamn his promise to Albus Dumbledore and his promise to protect Lily Potter’s children.

“I came here to find Hermione upon Pansy Parkinson’s recommendation. As I was in the middle of a Samhain ritual at that time, I figured that it must be important, so I came. At that time, Potter and Weasley herded this mountain troll into the bathroom and I… we, actually, fought the troll. Hermione learned very quickly, actually, and thought well on her feet. She was able to help me bind the troll and learned the Incarcerous Spell in less than a minute with almost no theory behind the conjuring.” Flitwick doesn’t fail to notice the way Hermione brightens at Lily’s praise of her learning.

“And this block of stone… who conjured it?” Professor McGonagall asks. Lily offers a shy smile.

“Sorry, Professor, I did. I needed something stronger than a regular Stupefy for the troll.”

“Minerva, they need to go back to their common rooms. I’m sure Ms Smythin needs to recuperate after conjuring that block of stone,” Professor Flitwick announces.

“Yes, alright. You two are extremely fortunate to survive such an encounter, girls, and I hope you remember that! And you two boys are extremely fortunate that those two survived, or you could be facing charges. Please never trap a troll in a bathroom ever again!” Professor McGonagall gives her warnings before her face softens. “Fifteen points to Gryffindor for Hermione, twenty points to Slytherin for Lily’s accidental magic, and five points off from Gryffindor for the both of you!”

“Professor, if it was accidental magic, should I really be awarded for it?” Lily protests. Professor McGonagall gives her a soft smile.

“You saved my only smart lion. I think an instinct to save others ought to be praised anyway, for if you didn’t have that character, I doubt that the accidental magic would’ve knocked out the troll instead of just transporting you alone out of the bathroom.”

Professor Snape watches this exchange with a slightly horrified expression. He honestly didn’t get paid enough for this or to witness McGonagall’s obvious soft spot for his… very Slytherin… goddaughter.

“Thank you, Lily,” Hermione whispers as she hugs her. Lily smiles.

“Thank you for not questioning the Samhain ritual. I doubt we would’ve made it out alive if I had to take the time to explain the ritual,” Lily says as she pulls away. Hermione laughs in response.

“It’s been known to happen.”  
\--

“Genesis! Is it just you this year?”

Yes, mother. I changed my name to Lily Genesis Smythin however in the hopes that Albus Dumbledore wouldn’t recognize me. Lloyd, I think, still does not know that I am his twin. He also believes, along with the rest of the Wizarding World, that he is its Saviour.

“You would’ve been the Saviour. During that time-- well, to be honest, I only had you in mind when I died so you probably jumped in front of Lloyd, who would’ve died otherwise. Explain your mistrust of Dumbledore, yes?”

Dumbledore placed me in an orphanage. If that weren’t bad enough behaviour from one’s magical guardian, attempting to place mental and magical blocks on my brain, my magic, and my other magical abilities was a pretty big straw for me. And father, I took up Ladyship of several Houses and I’m planning on entering Wizengamot for the upcoming winter session. Are there any tips you have for me? Lucius Malfoy’s been a great help in getting me settled into the Wizarding World and its customs actually.

“Lucius Malfoy?”

I’m Lady of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Gaunt, and Potter. I’m also the heiress of the Ancient and Noble House of Black, Selwyn, Carrow, and I think one more. He cannot harm me.

“If Lucius Malfoy is teaching you, there is nothing I need to say other than to look at your Family Grimoires and your Activo Relati. Tell me, how is Sirius? Or, I suppose Uncle Padfoot?”

Sirius is in Azkaban for betraying you. Was it not Sirius that betrayed--

“PETER PETTIGREW THAT BLOODY TRAITOR!”

So no, it wasn’t… tell me the full story! I can get this settled over winter break. I promise.

“You are too young to be playing in politics already.”

Mother, if I don’t Sirius Black will suffer and obviously Dumbledore will not do anything. Lloyd, despite having an early introduction to the Wizarding World, is slow and has no idea of pureblood culture or its politics. He will be eaten in the arena whereas I stand a chance. Did you know he called me a Mudblood the first time we met? He also is rubbish at eating with a knife and has no instinct for political games from what I’ve observed. Really, everything seems to be falling to me at this point, what’s one more?

“Genesis… I don’t know what you’ve been through, but… I’m sorry.”

Don’t be sorry, Mother. It’s ensuring my survival right now. In fact, I already have a game plan to defeat Voldemort. A working game plan, not whatever Albus Dumbledore has ideas of grandeur about. So tell me Sirius Black’s story.

“Sirius Black was my best friend. His animagus is a large black dog. When we went into hiding, he was our original Secret Keeper.”

You used the Fidelius Charm, I presume?

“Yes. Lily, it seems like our child picked up my ability in Charms!”

Professor McGonagall, if she knew who I was, would say I picked up your ability to fly, like Lloyd. I’m the youngest seeker in a century only because Lloyd is slightly older than me. Professor Snape would say I picked up Mother’s ability in potions… though Lloyd didn’t. He hates Lloyd, I think because he’s a Gryffindor and he has Father’s face. Continue the story, please.

“Padfoot persuaded us to change our Secret Keeper. He was the obvious one, so he would serve as a decoy. We changed our Secret Keeper to Peter Pettigrew. His animagus is a rat and if he’s alive, he might be hiding as a rat. Anyway, a fortnight after, Lord Voldemort found us.”

Also Mother, Father… I was sorted into Slytherin.

“A Slytherin? You’re probably taking after my Mum then, did you know your grandmother is Dorea Black? That’s how you’re related to the Blacks. If you want more information on the Blacks or Sirius, look in your Activo Relati during Christmas break. And look in the newspapers for the aftermath and see if Sirius had any confrontation with Pettigrew that led to his capture or whatnot. The funny thing is that Dumbledore actually knew about our switch of Secret Keeper.”

This is why I do not trust him. I think he has Lloyd under some sort of compulsion charm. And Lord Voldemort is currently possessing the back of Professor Quirrell’s, our Defence teacher, head.

“How do you know this?”

When I first entered Gringotts, Hagrid was emptying vault 713. Later, there was news of a breakout. The goblins had no idea who it was, so it had to be someone that matched Albus Dumbledore in strength. I could only think of Lord Voldemort. Hogwarts, since it’s technically my property, likes me and revealed to me the trapdoor on the third floor which has a Cerberus guarding it. I came to the conclusion that the brown package residing in vault 713 was moved to Hogwarts. I was sure that Lord Voldemort most likely knew of these happenings and was at Hogwarts. Since I bothered to do my research on Voldemort, I came to the conclusion that Voldemort was most likely occupying the Defence position. At the same time, the scar on my collarbone began to hurt whenever I was facing the back of Quirrell’s turban-- and only the back of Quirrell’s turban. And Quirrell has a fake stutter, I believe. But when he doesn’t have a stutter, my scar constantly hurts. When the stutter comes back, the scar only aches when it’s the back of his head. That led me to my conclusion that Voldemort had accidentally created a Horcrux in my scar, and if his soul was unstable enough to do that, that means he has other Horcruxes elsewhere which explains how he didn’t die after the Killing Curse rebounded to hit him. I know how to remove the Horcrux from my scar, I think, though there are a few things I need to check with the goblins before I do perform the ritual.

“I will not talk with you about Lord Voldemort as I believe you have it handled. I do, however, wish to tell you of the Marauder’s Map. It is a map created by the Marauders-- that is, Remus Lupin, one of our good friends and a werewolf, which led to the rest of us becoming Animagi, who also goes by Moony, Sirius Black, who also goes by Padfoot, Peter Pettigrew, who also goes by Wormtail, and me. In the map, I used the name Prongs since my Animagus was a stag. This Map will show you the castle and all its inhabitants and where they are at all times. Disguises or changes of form, not even Polyjuice or an Animagus transformation, cannot fool the map. If Peter Pettigrew is ever on Hogwarts grounds, you will know, so I suggest you get your hands on it.”

Father, who has the map? Rightfully I can say it is mine as part of my Inheritance, correct?

“I just did some spying, Prongs and Prongslet! The Weasley twins have the Marauder’s Map. Did you know, they discovered the password on their own? But that’s beside the point. Yes, you can claim it as part of your Inheritance.”

Wait, how did you spy?

“It’s a perk of being dead, I suppose.”

“The password for the map is to tap it with your wand and say ‘I solemnly swear I am up to no good’. It will reveal the map. To hide it again, tap it and say ‘Mischief Managed’.”

I’ll retrieve the map from the Weasleys. I have suspicions on where Pettigrew is right now. Namely, in the Gryffindor tower, next to Ronald Weasley who is sharing a dormitory with Lloyd.

“Get the map.”

I will. And I’m sure I can bring Sirius Black to justice, especially since he is Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Black.

“He was disowned, wasn’t he?”

No. Lucius Malfoy told me he was never disowned, his mother was just extremely upset. The Lord Black at the time did not disown him and did not renounce him as heir, thus he is rightfully the new Lord Black. With the Black name practically being pureblood royalty and with my support along with Lord Malfoy’s I think I can manage.

“I used to hate Lucius Malfoy, but I suppose I can’t anymore. He’s practically adopted you into his family if he’s teaching you pureblood customs.”

I know. I suppose I’m lucky that Severus Snape knows them well enough that I benefit.

“When Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy come home, we’ll need to give them a load of thanks for taking care of you.”

I’ll be sure to pass on the sentiment, Mother. Also, my first Quidditch game is tomorrow. I’ll be racing against Lloyd for the snitch. Did you know there are actually no rules that one has to actually ride a broom, and I also happen to be an Elemental with very good control over air?”

“Are you serious?”

Yes. Lloyd can ride his Nimbus Two Thousand or whatever the heck broom he has; I’ll be floating in actual air.

“That’s brilliant! Why wasn’t I an elemental?”

You weren’t Lord Voldemort’s horcrux.

“In that case, I think I’ll pass.”

“Will we see you next year? Our time is nearly drawing to a close.”

Yes. I swear I will repeat this ritual next year and update you.

“Good. Goodbye Prongslet, and never forget, we love you.”  
\--

Lily herself learns that Professor Quirrell was the one who alerted the school to a troll and her doubt of the Professor only grows as a result. Pansy told her the moment Lily was out of the ritual.

This meant that Lily immediately began a walk to the third floor corridor.

“Hey, Fluffy. Was there anyone that came this night?” A pause as Lily picks up the thoughts. “Okay, thank you. I think you can let the second person you saw through; he’s safe and he’s my godfather. The first man is a bad man but don’t try too hard to stop him or he’ll probably be mad and kill you. He’s a little bit insane, yes?” Another pause. “Good. I brought you a treat, too.” Lily lifts up a handful of bacon, which Fluffy immediately eats. “Can you tell me what’s under the trapdoor, or is that knowledge off-limits?... Oh, Devil’s Snare and a series of traps which leads to a small brown package which you saw brought in? Thank you, you’ve confirmed a lot of my theories… Yes, yes. I love you too.” Lily lets out a laugh at the end, stroking the three heads. She hugs its rather large body once before standing up. “Okay, I have to go now, it’s getting late. I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

Lily makes a quick visit to Professor Snape’s office.

“So your leg is mauled by the Cerberus, or at least that’s what it told me,” Lily says upon entering. “Do you need any help?”

“Yes, could you grade that entire stack of first-year Potions essays?” he groans. Lily laughs.

“Of course. Lloyd Potter, a Troll. Oh look, it’s Lily Smythin… an O, of course.”

“You’re still supposed to grade in percentages for first-year. There a couple things they had to hit in their Potions essay.”

“Let me guess. They had to explain the purpose of Ashwinder eggs and state explicitly that they are extremely reactive but don’t react with anything in this potion, which is rare. They also had to list the properties of Ashwinder eggs and elaborate on how it reacts inside the body instead of in the potion.”

“Correct. Give yourself a hundred. Read Miss Granger’s and try not to…”

“Cringe at the excess amount of information given? Yeah, I can do that,” Lily snorts and begins to read Hermione’s. “I mean, she hit all the points. Perfect score.”  
\--

The next few days, the entire talk is that Lily Smythin, a snake, saved Hermione Granger, a lion, from the mountain troll. The stories are only encouraged by Hermione’s affirmation and Lily’s attempts to redirect attention back to Hermione for her quick learning. 

That aspect of Hermione becomes rather praised in the school as well as Lily’s “accidental magic”.

While she thinks of a way to approach the Weasley twins, she looks up papers of Sirius Black. The story unravels and Lily begins piecing together the story, slowly becoming more and more infuriated with Peter Pettigrew. Once the full story comes together, along with all the evidence she has, she feels a cold rage begin to blossom, tendrils growing through her entire body. All plans to approach the Weasley twins nicely are promptly shredded and she marches up to the Gryffindor dormitories.

“May I go in?” she asks the portrait.

“I’m sorry, I need the password before I let you in.”

“Passwords? Does owning this castle count as a password which can be used for all common rooms?”

“Surely Hogwarts will take you in if you are what you claim to be,” the Fat Lady reasons, slightly nervous from the girl’s cold but blazing green eyes. The girl snorts and promptly disappears.

Lily makes sure she’s completely under a Disillusionment Charm before she strides up the stairs to the third year boys dorms. She enters the room without knocking and when seeing no Weasleys anywhere, promptly takes out her wand.

“Accio Marauder’s Map!” A small bit of parchment comes flying toward her and Lily smiles. She undoes the charm before she taps it. “I solemnly swear I am up to no good.”

As predicted, the map opens up. Lily grins, wider this time and more genuine, though there’s still something distinctly cold about the smile. She scours the map for two particular names: Tom Marvolo Riddle, which ought to overlap with Quirinus Quirrell, and Peter Pettigrew.

“What’re you doing? Why… how did you even get in? The doors here are warded, for Merlin’s sake! Wait… is that… why do you have it?!” Lily looks up to see one of the twins standing there.

“I am here to fetch a magical artifact belonging to my family. I got in because Hogwarts seems to favour me more than it does your wards, and I have it because apparently you are not responsible enough to see danger with the map,” Lily replies. “I’m Prong’s daughter, in case you’re wondering. And if you want to know the fates of the Marauders… one is dead, one is a Death Eater traitor who is presumed dead, one is wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban after being backstabbed by the traitor, and the other is a struggling werewolf.”

“Which one are you the daughter of, then?”

“The dead one,” Lily says sharply. “I contacted him during Samhain, along with my mother. He told me about the map and my mother mentioned that you two were in possession of it.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. Did you figure out how to open it? By the way, I’m Fred Weasley.”

“Lily Smythin. My father gave me the password. Are there any other kinks of this map that you discovered?”

“Well, you can talk with the creators of this map. If you just tap it and don’t say anything, words will start scrolling. You reply with words and they reply in writing.”

“Thank you, Weasley. I’m now off to do the responsible things you and George Weasley neglected to do,” she says with a sardonic smile. She disappears and reappears outside of the Gryffindor common room.

“Was that enough for proof? Do I get to go through the portrait hole next time and cause less of a commotion?”

“Quite, yes. I’m sorry, but I must take privacy seriously.”

“Oh no, I’m not mad at you. Not really, I’m just in a cold rage right now.” The Fat Lady shudders when she thinks of the poor person her cold rage is directed at.

“And I trust that you will not be revealing information of my ownership to anyone,” the girl says, turning to pierce the portrait with a sharp gaze.  
\--

“Hey, Weasley!” Lily says, pasting a fake smile on her face. They have Double Potions in roughly fifteen minutes.

“Yes, Lily?” he asks cautiously. Lily tilts her head slightly.

“You said you had a pet rat, correct?”

“Yes… what about it?”

“Could I see it for a moment?” Ron brings the rat over.

“His name is Scabbers, he’s been in our family for near eleven years. Maybe ten as of now.” Lily’s eyes narrow at that information.

“Hm. I feel like if he were to be human, he’d have a balding head and a stomach,” Lily says.

“What do you mean?” Ron asks, slightly alarmed. Lily just beams.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that this rat gives off an aura of… I don’t know, cowardice. It’s traitorous, I’d say… almost… murderous. I would be cautious around it,” Lily frowns down at the rat, which looks rather panicked. “Would you be adverse to replacing this thing with an owl of some sort? Maybe a kneazle, I heard those have human-like intelligence too, but they’re a lot more loyal.” She says all of this slowly, still with a tilted head and a vaguely threatening smile. Her eyes are fixed on the rat. She looks up. “Quick question, will you be staying for Christmas?” She’s aware that the rat is still on her hand, trembling.

“Oh… yeah, I’ll be here for Christmas.”

“I’ll get you an owl for Christmas, then. Keep a close eye on the rat, yes? And tell Lloyd James Potter to ward his bed at night. You’ll find that the rat… what was his name, Peter or something? He won’t be able to leave Hogwarts castle.”

“His name is Scabbers. What, did you put a spell on him?”

“No, Hogwarts just shifted its wards. I did tell you that Hogwarts favoured my will, yes?” She returns her gaze to the rat. “Don’t think about trying to escape… Scabbers, Peter, Traitor, whatever its name is,” she says dismissively before handing the rat back to Ron.

“Alright then.” Ron eyes the rat suspiciously afterward-- Lily’s senses, he’d learned, were often correct and she was rather obviously implying something abnormal about his rat, though she’d still kept her secrets.   
\--

The days pass without incident and she’s nearly to the Quidditch game with no major incident. Then, Professor Snape comes storming in with a limp. Lily sighs, sure that something’s happened.

“What happened?”

“Potter, who else? He saw me with my injured leg,” Snape sighs.

“Godfather, you know as well as I do that you’re not telling me something which will make me sigh and ignore you for half the day.”

“I may or may not have unjustly taken Potter’s book from him,” Severus admits tersely.

“Did you make up something about library books being not allowed outside the library?”

“...Yes.”

“Gods, if that were an actual rule I’d be serving detention for the rest of my life. Now they probably think you’re after that small brown package that was in vault 713. Do you know what it is, by the way, or could you give me any hints? Because I know who’s after it, but I don’t know how important the package is.”

“Nicholas Flamel is the owner of the package and that’s all I can give you.”

“He’s famous for the Philosopher’s stone isn’t he? And he’s six hundred… why would he move the Philosopher’s stone to Hogwarts of all places, where there are curious children? Curious children do the most damage, he should know that after six hundred years,” Lily frowns.

“He’s about as wise as a six hundred year old should be,” Severus says. “That was another hint and you’ve still not figured it out.”

“Severus, be quiet. The stone is a fake, right? Albus Dumbledore’s just trying to draw him out and probably kill Quirrell so Voldemort’s delayed for a little while,” Lily concludes. “So remind me why you went after him, because I know Albus is probably wanting poor Lloyd to actually stop him.”

“I needed to stop him until Lloyd figures out what the heck is going on underneath the trapdoor,” Severus explains. Lily rolls her eyes.

“Why are you bound to Albus Dumbledore again? If we could just focus on other things, I’m sure I could kill him by fourth year. Lord Voldemort may be powerful, but his soul is unstable and he’s a little insane from that.”

“His soul is unstable?” Severus exclaims. Lily gives him an exasperated look.

“What other cause of insanity could there be? And he made accidental Horcruxes, of course his soul is unstable,” Lily replies. “Hm, does that mean that if Lord Voldemort knows my scar is an accidental Horcrux he’ll try to possess me? Well, he technically can’t.”

“What do you mean, he can’t? If your scar is a Horcrux, of course he can.”

“No. Possession only works on the weak and those without mind defences. Severus, try invading my mind,” Lily instructs. Severus takes a deep breath.

“Legilimens,” he casts, and immediately finds himself facing a deep black ocean-- one he’d rather not traverse. He hesitantly steps into the darkness however, and two seconds later he’s ejected.

“He can’t possess me. Besides, the Horcrux is only in my scar, not the rest of my body, and he’d have to first travel all the way through to my head before he could even attempt possession. If Lloyd’s scar were a Horcrux, on the other hand, he’d be in much greater danger of possession.”

“You’ve definitely done research,” Severus snorts. Lily grins.

“A perk of having four Ancient Houses to your name, three of which are Noble,” Lily replies. “Alright, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go recharge for the Quidditch game tomorrow.”

“Yes, good luck,” Severus says, dismissing her.  
\--

“Food,” Draco says, shoving a plate at Lily. Lily frowns down at the heap of sausages and egg.

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Lily replies, her voice evidently saying she’s silently judging his choice of food. At that, everyone immediately begins offering her different bowls and plates. She holds up a hand, and the clamour dies down. “Farley, could you pass me the fruit? And Captain Flint, the coffee please.”

“You’re not eating only that,” Draco scolds. Lily grins.

“Of course I’m not. I mean, you gave me a plate of sausages and eggs too. So remind me what I’m supposed to do as Seeker?”

“Lily Smythin!” Draco exclaims as Lily begins to laugh. “As Seeker, you will do your best to avoid injury until you catch sight of the Snitch, in which case anything goes as long as you catch it.”

“Okay then,” Lily says in between sips of coffee. Five minutes later, the Slytherin Quidditch team begins to make its way out to the lockers.

“Good luck!” Draco says, which is immediately followed by another chorus of good lucks from the other Slytherins.

Flint gives a customary pep talk, one entirely unneeded since all the Slytherins look ready to kill anyway. Then they march onto the Quidditch field to see Madam Hooch refereeing, standing in the middle of the field and waiting for the two teams, broom in hand.

“Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you,” she said the moment all of them were there. Lily noticed a particularly severe glance towards Flint. Lily chooses to ignore whatever else she’s saying in favour of observing the crowd; there are equal amounts of people cheering for her and for Lloyd, Lloyd due to his title and Lily due to her repetitive savings of other children, probably.

“Mount your brooms, please.” Lily swings a leg over her Nimbus. She has no intention of actually manoeuvring the broomstick; rather, she plans to sit on it, grip it with her legs, and use her affinity with the air to move her. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast from her silver whistle and they were off.

Lily just floats higher than the rest of the game and watches. She’s aware that Lloyd’s done the same thing, though arguably Lily has a better perspective as she’s a bit higher and in the corner of the field, meaning she can see everything.

Meaning she can also see Slytherin failing to do anything remotely useful and now has more pressure to actually find, and catch, the Snitch before Potter. When Lily sees a small streak of gold hurtling towards Adrian Pucey, who is in possession, she knows two things. One, she must stop the Snitch from distracting Pucey and maybe the Slytherins will score for once, and two, she must get the Snitch before Potter.

She dives, this time relying on her broom speed but also making the air around her more fluid. Marcus Flint was not getting out of her way and suddenly she realized why; Potter had also seen it and was diving straight at Flint and she really needed to move faster.

She does, except then the blow of a whistle distracts her from the snitch, and she loses sight of it.

Screams of “FOUL” also distracted her a little, but not nearly as much as the whistle. A penalty was awarded and the game continued.

Lily is vaguely aware of someone weaving magic around her broom so she fixes the broom in place with a couple slabs of hard air. Now the jinx needs to combat her own magic, which gives her more control over the broom than she’d have otherwise.

The broom still bucks a bit, which she knows a couple people notice and take action on-- she’d looked into the stands and immediately seen Hermione Granger knock over Professor Quirrell, thank goodness, and then seem to set fire to Severus or something.

She ignores all of this and just goes for the Snitch, which she’s caught sight of yet again. Lloyd, on the other hand, is looking in the wrong direction and the only thing that alerts him is Lily passing right by him in a dive. He immediately follows, but even on the same broomstick, he’s not exactly a match. Probably because of the difference in air fluidity.

Lily catches the Snitch and holds it up to signal the end of the game and there’s a large whoop from the Slytherin stands. Wood was still complaining about broom malfunctions, because “Did you see the speed of her compared to Lloyd, Madam Hooch, there must’ve been a broom malfunction that put us at a disadvantage!” but it didn’t matter as he couldn’t prove it and the game was still won, 210 to twenty.

Lily’s aware of Potter and Weasley conversing in hurried tones with Granger and then them waiting for her on the edge of the field. As soon as she can, she excuses herself and makes her way to them.

“I’m guessing you wanted to talk with me?”

“Lily, we thought we should warn you. Professor Snape was jinxing your broom and you ought to be careful around him--” Hermione’s cut off by Lily’s laughter.

“Was that what you thought? Well, thank you for the sentiment of the warning,” Lily replies with a warm smile.

“Wait, what do you mean? It wasn’t Snape?” Ron asks.

“He’s my godfather, guys. Thanks for knocking over Quirrell though, his continued eye contact was starting to get annoying,” Lily grins before leaving them with that piece of information. She knows they’re going to go to Hagrid with it.

It might not be a smart idea, but Lily decides to accompany them. She casts a strong Disillusionment Charm and follows them.

“I found out something about him. He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it was guarding. And then there’s Professor Quirrell. Lily says that it’s him that was jinxing her broom, not Professor Snape.”

There was the shattering sound of a teapot crashing.

“How do you know about Fluffy?”

“The Cerberus?”

“Yes, remember, Lily told us his name?”

“Yeah-- he’s mine-- bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las’ year-- I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the--”

Greek chappies, Lily supposed, made sense, since Cerberuses were first seen in Greek mythology and were native to Greece.

“Yes?”

“Now, don’t ask me anymore. That’s top secret, that is.”

“But Snape’s trying to steal it.”

“Rubbish. Snape’s a Hogwarts teacher, he’d do nothin’ of the sort.”

“Then why was he trying to kill Lily along with Quirrell? I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I’ve read all about them! You’ve got to keep eye contact and Snape wasn’t blinking at all, I saw him!”

“I’m tellin’ yeh, yer wrong! I don’ know why Lily’s broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn’ try an’ kill a student!” Lily makes her appearance then.

“May I add, he wouldn’t try and kill his goddaughter. Did you know counterjinxes also require an immense amount of eye contact? Anyway, continue Hagrid on your rant, I’ll leave you be now,” Lily recasts the Disillusionment. Hopefully the rest of them will think she just did the weird disappearing thing which marks her exits and entrances.

“She’s right. Now listen to me, all three of yeh-- yer meddlin’ in things that don’ concern yeh. It’s dangerous. You forget that dog, an’ you forget what it’s guardin’, that’s between Professor Dumbledore an’ Nicholas Flamel--”

“Aha! So there’s someone called Nicholas Flamel involved, is there?”  
\--

The holidays were nearly upon Hogwarts and the school was showing it. Professor Snape informs Lily rather gleefully that he took five points off of Gryffindor due to Ron threatening Draco and the only conclusion Lily reaches is that Draco needs to learn how to fight.

She takes it upon herself to teach Draco martial arts and boxing, telling him that yes he must take classes, otherwise he’d be an utter fool because what if one day his wand got taken from him?

Lily asks Hogwarts to find a suitable room for teaching martial arts right after Severus’ story and Hogwarts comes up blank. She couldn’t think of anything either, which frustrated her to no end.

“Have you considered that, as the Lady in possession of Hogwarts, you have access to Hogwarts’ vast amount of house elves?” Draco asks, lounging on the couch. “If anyone could tell you about rooms in Hogwarts, the house elves can.”

“Hm. Smart. I’ll make a visit to the kitchens, see you later!”

 

“If you run into Potty and the Weasel, make sure to punch them for me!” Draco calls back.

“Nope. You can do that once you learn how to physically fight,” Lily says as she exits the common room. Before she reaches the library, however, she comes across Hermione Granger.

“Just one. And that reminds me-- Lloyd, Ron, we have half an hour before lunch. We should be in the library.”

“Oh yeah, you’re right.” Ron actively tears his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who’s creating golden bubbles and trailing them over the tree.

“The library? Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren’t yeh?”

“Oh, we’re not working. Ever since you mentioned Nicholas Flamel we’ve been trying to find out who he is,” Lloyd replies. Lily makes her presence known.

“Which section of the library have you been looking in? If it’s relatively modern, I’d suggest going back about, I don’t know… what is it? Five to six centuries back, that’s when he made the thing you’re trying to figure out the identity of,” Lily says.

“You what? How did yeh know, Lily?” Hagrid exclaims.

“Well, I overheard them talking of Nicholas Flamel. His creation is perhaps one of the most famous. He’s even mentioned on Albus Dumbledore’s Chocolate Frog card and any wizard who’s lived for over six centuries is bound to be known by at least one first-year, yes?”

“Lily, could you give us a title of a book if you can’t share the information with us?” Hermione pleads. Lily raises a brow. “We’ll owe you one.” She evaluates the group of three before replying.

“The book’s title is A Development of Ancient Magics and Alchemy. Page seven hundred and eighty four will have the passage you’re looking for. I believe it’s already checked out of the library, and you, Hermione, probably have it in your possession.”

“Why’d you say we’d owe her one?”

“She’s a Slytherin. She needs to know that we know we owe her a favour.”

“And what if the favour is something like go kill yourself?”

“Lily saved me from a troll and Neville from cracking his spine, d’you really think she’s going to ask you to kill yourself?”

“Well, Lloyd, our buddy here, called her a mudblood the first time we met.”

“Did you ever apologize, Lloyd?”

“Let’s just get the book. Hermione?”

Lily tickles a pear to enter the kitchens. Upon entering, all the house elves bow. A couple come over.

“What can we be getting the Lady?”

“Hello, what are your names?”

“I am Dinky, miss. She is Eeta.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dinky and Eeta. Would you two happen to know a place where I can teach one of my friends martial arts?”

“Yes, yes Lady! We know just the room, we house-elves call it the Come-and-Go Room! Come, we will take you.”

Lily starts her first lesson with Draco. It’s really just an assessment, which she lets Draco know, and she learns that he’s certainly strong enough to fight though he doesn’t have the reaction speed or skillset yet. She lets him know this and then has him practise kicks for the rest of the time.

The rest of the time she spends at the library in the Restricted Section. The books she wants to read open before she even touches them, so she figures she has some sort of legal permission to read them without a permission slip.


	9. Pureblood Royalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily frees Sirius, Wizengamot convenes, Dumbledore is not pleased and also scheming, and we learn about magical houses!! There's a Yule celebration at Grimmauld Place, too. Oh, Lily also tortures Pettigrew a little. Not really-- there's no graphic description, at least, but she casts eight Sectumsempras on him.
> 
> Basically, this covers Lily's very eventful Yule holiday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm posting this early since I know tomorrow is... busy... but anyway, here's the update! Same disclaimers, etc. Again, all feedback is appreciated and thank you all for your encouragement <3 Hope you enjoy!

Christmas break begins with Lily making her way to the Ministry of Magic while wearing a cloak which conceals her face.

She supposed there were worse ways to spend Christmas than surprising old wizards and witches. Lily was well aware of which bills would be introduced this Christmas; she’d even offered her input for some of them and helped write a couple. Lily Apparates into the Ministry, ignoring the fact she’s not legally cleared to Apparate yet, and walks over to meet Lucius Malfoy.

“Lord Malfoy,” she greets.

“Lady Slytherin,” he replies with a smirk and a voice just loud enough to carry over the Atrium. Lily shoots him a raised eyebrow but walks with him to the elevator, only because she has no idea where to go. They ascend until the tenth level, at which point he ushers her out.

“You remember the bills that will be introduced?”

“Yes.”

“And you know how you will approach Chief Warlock?”

“Lady Slytherin greets you, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, and claims the seven seats of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and the Ancient House of Gaunt. I set the seven seats as undetermined and they will serve no party.”

“If he asks you for your age or other personal information?”

“I wish for that information to remain confidential as the Lady of Ancient and Noble Houses.”

“If he asks you for proof that you are who you claim to be?”

“I completely evict him as Headmaster and he is no longer allowed back to Hogwarts castle,” Lily frowns. Mr Malfoy laughs. “Chief Warlock, with all due respect, the Ladyship rings testify that my words ring true.”

“Good. Lord Dumbledore does not appear at Wizengamot often, only to open the sessions in summer and winter. He will likely make his only appearance at Wizengamot today. And remember, don’t terrorize the Minister too much.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it… unless he starts it,” Lily grins.  
\--

“As Chief Warlock, I welcome all new members. If you would please rise,” Dumbledore intones. Lily rises; she’s the only one.

“Lady Slytherin greets you, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, and claims the seven seats of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and the Ancient House of Gaunt. I set the seven seats as undetermined. They will serve no party.”

Dumbledore’s face turns to an expression of shock before it’s quickly concealed. He’s furious; as Lloyd’s magical guardian, he had been able to use Gryffindor and Potter seats to his advantage and now it was gone. That would be concerning for his plans regarding Lloyd. He supposes he could’ve probably caught wind of this earlier if he paid more attention to his duties as Chief Warlock, but he didn’t have the time.

“As Chief Warlock, to protect the integrity of those seats, I ask for your age.”

“I wish for that information to remain confidential as the Lady of Ancient and Noble Houses… and as the Lady who owns the very grounds of Hogwarts,” Lily says the last part with flashing eyes.

“Very well. Let us commence with the first bill introduced by the undetermined Lady Pyria.”

Lily knows this bill; it’s the one on funds for magical orphanages which will have tutors to teach Muggleborn orphans magic and Wizarding culture along with a continued education in sciences, reading, writing, and mathematics.

She puts her seven votes forward in favour of the orphanage and it passes with a surprising majority. Lily’s aware of Lucius Malfoy’s wondrously Slytherin plan; the clauses in each bill he pushes forward will work together to create an end result of Muggleborns being recorded by the Ministry, being made aware at age eight, and either being taken to the orphanages or staying at home but going to the orphanage for lessons. And magical orphans will be placed in those Muggleborn orphanages as well, but they’ll know their family trees and have special lessons for whatever roles they’ll be expected to take on when they grow older.

Lloyd James Potter, for example, would have been placed there and instructed on the workings of Wizengamot and its House of Nobles.

The day, Lucius tells her after the court closes, has been very productive. Nearly a quarter of the bills they wished to pass are already in motion and magical orphanages will be built starting next week.

Instead of going back immediately to Potter Manor, she makes a visit to 12 Grimmauld Place. It’s rather… unsavory and upon her entrance, some screaming occurs. Lily winces at the sound but heads toward it to see a portrait of Walburga Black.

“Lady Black,” she says. “I have a couple questions.”

“We answer to no one, especially not filth like you!”

“Hm. My name is Lily Genesis Smythin, Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, the Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, the Ancient House of Gaunt, and Heiress Black.”

“How many years have passed, my dear?” Walburga finally says, looking shocked.

“Ten since the defeat of Lord Voldemort and your son’s imprisonment. He is Lord Black now, and wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban. I suspect foul play, most likely imprisonment without trial.”

“Lord of the most Ancient and Noble House of Black, imprisoned without a trial?” Walburga Black’s voice has gone dangerously cold.

“And wrongfully. I plan on bringing this up to the DMLE which has a new administration. Amelia Bones is the head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement and I believe I can coerce the Minister and thus his Senior Undersecretary to at least hear a trial. I plan on going in as Heiress Black with the backing of Lady Slytherin. They, after all, do not know that we are the same person.”

“Bring him back. The House needs a Lord or Lady in it; I’m sure you can already see the house’s deterioration.”

“I will. Is there anything I should know?”

“Sirius Orion Black would never betray James Potter. They were inseparable. Regulus, Sirius’ brother, did become a Death Eater, but he died. Kreacher might be able to tell you more about Regulus. He certainly will not tell me; it’s almost as if Regulus commanded Kreacher to not talk about his death to family members. Have Sirius testify with Veritaserum and have him talk with our lawyer Riley Turke from Turke and Yosley. He should not have to stand trial, and if you can, get into the news that Sirius was released after wrongfully being imprisoned.”

“Thank you, and I will talk with Kreacher if the subject of Regulus comes up.”

“I suppose you must have other duties. Good luck and thank you, Lady Slytherin,” Walburga Black says. Lily smiles.

“Thank you for your information and your aid, Lady Black,” she replies before exiting 12 Grimmauld Place. Lily Apparates into Potter Manor. The house elves Pinky and Trinket greet her and lead Lily to the dining room.

After dinner, she loses herself in the library, makes a late-night visit to the portraits of Dorea Black and Charlus Potter, and finally claims a room and sleeps.  
\--

“I was hoping I could avoid this. Tell Amelia Bones that Heiress Black is here to see her and it is a matter of utmost importance. Now,” Lily hisses and the girl suddenly nods, scared, and flees to Amelia Bones. Lily’s quickly ushered in after that.

“What is this matter of utmost importance, Heiress Black?”

“It has come to my attention that Lord Black is currently in Azkaban, not having had a trial. I believe that if even thieves and other claimed Death Eaters were given a trial and if Bellatrix Lestrange, who confessed to the crime at the scene, was given a trial, then a member of perhaps one of the most prominent Wizarding families which have contributed discovery upon discovery to Wizarding society ought to have had a trial as well.”

“It was wartime, Miss Black. He did not need a trial if there was sufficient evidence.”

“May I point out the case of Bellatrix Lestrange? And Lord Black does not have sufficient evidence like Bellatrix Lestrange had. There is nothing in his file which states that Lord Black confessed. And pardon me for pointing out the obvious, but there are no spells which blast people into such tiny smithereens that only a finger is found. I prefer to go by Miss Smythin, if you’d be so kind,” Lily replies.

“Miss Smythin, I apologize. There is nothing in his file?”

“I have his file here, Madam Bones. There is nothing, if you’d like to review it. The Minister and his Senior Undersecretary are already moving Sirius Orion Black to a holding cell. I just thought it to be relevant that you know this as well.”

“The… Minister?”

“Lady Slytherin had a few words with the both of them. As this mistake was obviously a fault of the previous administration, they had no issues with being the harbringers of justice.”

“I see. And what brought this on?”

“Contacting James Potter and Lily Evans during Samhain,” Lily replies. Madam Bones’ eyebrows shoot up higher, if that’s possible.

“James Potter and Lily Evans condemned another?”

“You may have heard of him, his name is Peter Pettigrew and he is very much alive. If you’d like, I’ll bring him in.” At the end, Lily’s face takes on a vindictive smile.

“Once Sirius Black is cleared, it would be excellent if you could bring in Peter Pettigrew to stand trial.” If possible, Lily’s smile grows brighter and Madam Bones can’t help but smile back.

Lily makes a visit to Ministry holding cell #15 after the second day of Wizengamot.

“Lord Black,” Lily says with a small nod.

“Are you the one that claimed I’d been wrongfully imprisoned?”

“Prongs told me on Samhain night but I couldn’t do anything until I was out of school. I apologize,” Lily says quietly. “If you see me in a cloak obscuring my face, I am Lady Slytherin, by the way. When I’m like this, I am Lily Smythin, Heiress Black. Your mother alerted me to your situation regarding lawyers and I have made appropriate calls. I do not think I need to tell you this, but just in case-- do not talk to anyone unless it is Turke and do not talk to anyone without Turke’s presence. Are you willing to testify under Veritaserum?”

“Yes.”

“Good. And it looks as if Mr Turke has arrived,” Lily says. “Hello, Mr Turke. If you would make a note that Sirius Orion Black is willing to testify under Veritaserum… thank you. And I’ve heard the rule that Blacks do not stand for trial. I think we should be aiming for that.”

“Duly noted, Heiress Black. Lord Black, is there anything else you wish to make known?”

“I would like to see Heiress Black handle this matter,” Sirius says. Lily can tell he’s trying desperately to save face.

“I own a majority of stocks in the Daily Prophet. I believe there is room there to… shall we say, appropriately portray Lord Black. And as you are Lloyd Potter’s guardian and Lloyd Potter is known as the Boy Who Lived, no matter how false that title may be, I think we have serious grounds for a new portrait of you. Tell me, are you Potter’s magically sworn godfather?”

“Yes. Which was why I couldn’t understand why I was in Azkaban for a while,” Black says.

“You’re aware Dumbledore knew about the switch in Secret Keepers and chose to not get you a trial? As Chief Warlock and Headmaster of Hogwarts as well as Leader of the Light, he could’ve easily accomplished it,” Lily points out. Black frowns.

“I’m sure he’s been busy--”

“For ten years, yes, but he found time to get Professor Snape a trial and testify for him? Lord Black, you know as well as I do that Albus Dumbledore is a manipulative turd,” Lily frowns down at him. “Also, you really need a bath once you get out of here. Mr Turke, remember to ask the question regarding the nature of Lord Black’s godfathership.”

“Alright. I will correspond with Lord Henry at the Daily Prophet telling him of Sirius Black and telling him to send you the final draft for approval.”

“That’s perfect, thank you. I trust that this matter will be quickly resolved and that Sirius Black returns to 12 Grimmauld Place upon his emancipation and the settlement awarded to him. His imprisonment violates Laws 42 and 45 of the Treaty of 387, the Treaty of the Magna Carta, which has applied to the Wizarding World since 1782, Law 54 of the Wizarding Charter of Rights, and Law 354 of the Treaty of 1886, along with Law 13 of the Treaty of Wizengamot. The resulting damage of his name violates Law 65 of the Treaty of Wizengamot, Law 42 of the Wizarding Charter of Rights, and Laws 54 and 75 of the Treaty of Ancient and Noble Houses. His obvious horrible treatment while in prison which led to a decrease of health violates Laws 36, 54, and 72 of the Treaty of 1867 and Law 78 of the Wizarding Charter of Rights. Though a physical may be needed to prove the last bit, but it’s quite obvious that he’s been starved and wrongfully exposed to dementors which violates the laws stated above. Lord Black should be awarded quite a large settlement for that. Have you noted all of this?” Lily looks down at Mr Turke’s notes. “Good. Lord Black, I believe I’ll meet you at the end of today at Grimmauld Place?”

“Grimmauld Place?”

“Of course. 12 Grimmauld Place, is, let’s say… about to shut down,” Lily grimaces. “It needs the Lord to be there. Ten years without your presence, Padfoot. Ten years.”

“How did you know--”

“I contacted Prongs and my mother during Samhain. And believe me when I say that Wormtail is going to get it. Did you know that even Hogwarts’ restricted section has some rather nasty Dark curses?” Lily’s smirk promises destruction. Sirius looks a combination of vindictive, horrified, and confused. “I’ll explain everything once you get out. I think some Aurors are on the way right now-- can I properly terrify them before the interrogation is held?”

“Go right ahead,” Lord Black scoffs. True to her word, a group of Aurors appear.

“Hello, you’re here to interrogate Lord Black, correct?”

“Yes. I want you to remember that no matter what blue blood one has, Veritaserum doesn’t care,” one of the Aurors smirks. Lily advances.

“I want you to remember right now, all of you-- I am Heiress Black and this move has been supported by the Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Potter, and the Ancient House of Gaunt. If any harm comes to Lord Black, believe me when I say that you will find yourselves in Lord Black’s former Azkaban cell. I will personally make sure of it, even if I have to bind a couple dementors to my will,” Lily snarls. The Aurors look appropriately cowed, so Lily turns to Sirius. “I’ll see you at 12 Grimmauld Place. That is not up for debate.”

“Fine, fine. Go on, don’t you have to go watch a Wizengamot meeting or something?” Sirius asks, obviously annoyed. Lily rolls her eyes and decides to not comment or reply that Wizengamot has closed for the day. She just Apparates back to the Black townhouse.  
\--

“So let me get this straight: you are Genesis Lily Potter, you don’t trust Dumbledore and have somehow achieved legal adult status, and Lloyd James Potter has no idea who you are?”

“Accurate, I suppose. Can you reinforce the wards? I think the house needs it,” Lily orders. Sirius does as asked and the townhouse brightens slightly and seems to expand. “There are some magical pests here, I think. We should clear it out later, I suggest by telling the house to kick it out.”

“I can do that?”

“Did Orion Black never tell you? Yes, you can do that. Try it now, actually.” There’s a sharp crack and Lily stands to examine the curtains. “It worked, good job!”

“So, Prongslet, do you have a plan for defeating You-Know-Who?”

“I do, actually, and it all rests on the fact that I’m Lady Slytherin. I’ve just got to hunt down all his Horcruxes before he finds an actual physical body to return in,” Lily says. “Your brother, Regulus, was a Death Eater, right?”

“Unfortunately,” Sirius grimaces.

“Could you call Kreacher?” Sirius gives Lily a puzzled look but does as instructed. 

“By the way, I think we should start the removal of the Dark artifacts. Throw them out or something.” Lily gives Sirius a surprised look.

“Why? They are more dangerous in the street than they are in here. If you really are so adverse to them, place them in Gringotts. But may I remind you that Dark magic is not as scary as you’d like to make it out to be,” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “You really ought to start listening to your instinct more. And another thing-- do you know how Wizengamot and politics are right now?”

“No idea. I’ll just go vote on whatever you vote on.”

“Sirius Orion Black, please tell me you did not just say that,” Lily frowns at him. “You need to educate yourself. This is the future of the Wizarding World we’re playing with in politics. Currently I’m behind movements for magical orphanages where magical orphans can be placed to learn and assimilate to Wizarding culture and those with heritage can learn of their political roles. This will also include abused Muggleborn wizards and witches, which upon discovery of abuse will be moved to the orphanages. I’m also supporting movements which will make it a requirement for the Ministry to begin recording the births of Muggleborns. At eight, they’ll learn about the Wizarding World. Either their parents comply and they take classes and have tutors at the orphanages, or they’ll be taken to the orphanages and learn anyway,” Lily explains. “Are you still behind me?”

 

“It sounds reasonable. And you’re a good person, I think.”

“Good people can make bad choices and decisions. Take Lloyd Potter, for example. Though he’s under compulsion charms to Dumbledore, so I don’t know how much of his behaviour is accounted for.”

“He’s under compulsion charms?”

“It’s why I strictly advise for you to not seek guardianship yet. Lloyd Potter is practically being spoiled by the Dursleys though he’s having issues with Dudley. It’s expected, I suppose, as Dudley’s the first Muggle in the family. But otherwise, he’s having a much more wondrous life than I did at the orphanage,” Lily frowns. “But you’ve got to care about politics, Padfoot, don’t you understand? Don’t just take my words! If I told you that Lucius Malfoy was the mastermind behind this, what would you think?”

“I wouldn’t believe you. Malfoy wouldn’t want anything to do with Muggles,” Black says. “And another thing about this house, why aren’t I allowed to just get a Muggle flat and visit this place once in a while?” Lily frowns at him. A teapot shatters and Lily sighs.

“That, right there, is why. Padfoot, stop suppressing your nature! This house can feel it and it can feel your indifference and it’s not happy about it. You’ve got to care.”

“But I don’t. It doesn’t feel like home,” Sirius replies point blank. Lily shudders, expecting something else to fall. The curtains seem to abruptly draw closed. Lily stands up and goes over to the curtains, placing a hand on them.

“I will make memories here. Do not give up on this just yet. I’ll probably re-decorate-- pale green curtains and a light beech floor, like the color scheme my parents used, perhaps some new furniture and new upholstery for the chairs. By the way, I know you can present better than this. I want you to present better than this, at least while I’m here.”

Lily draws back after having said that and the curtains abruptly open again and the dining room seems to grow in size.

“That’s the effect of caring, Padfoot,” Lily chastises. “What happy memories do you have here? Even if you hated your family later, there must’ve been something happy. Think of those. Tell the stories as we walk around the house. Especially tell the stories when we’re walking around upstairs.”

“Okay,” Sirius says, and he takes a deep breath and stands up before beginning to speak.

As they walk through the rooms, it’s as if the smog clears. Little bugs start to hide themselves away, the curtains shake and open themselves firmly against the walls, the shutters finally fully open, and the house seems to expand. The fireplace grows perhaps five times in size while Sirius talks about the first time he saw the house elves roasting a deer while in the kitchen and the kitchen itself grows in size when Sirius recounts the first time he drank wine and then hexed Lucius Malfoy, resulting in the entire dining table fighting. As Sirius talks about that memory, the wine glass he holds fills up with a deep rich red wine. He samples it elegantly, and Lily notes with a small amount of pleasure that Sirius looks more like the Fair Folk now; his features are sharper, almost, more elegant and angles which are odd but not really, they’re now much more normal to Lily than Hermione Granger’s softness.

They go upstairs and Lily finds that its already cleared. Clean and elegant, though Lily insists on Sirius going to begin redecoration of the Master’s bedroom.

“You obviously have bad memories. You’ve got to redecorate it.”

“I don’t--”

 

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Lily replies. “You’re one of the Fair Folk, you know the importance of having this townhouse as your home, where you feel comfortable. And I suppose it’s not too much to ask that you host a celebration for your coming home? The house needs to know that its appreciated and its standing hasn’t slipped. And a celebration is appropriate, considering the decade-long absence.”

“Who would I even invite? I’m hardly in touch with anyone,” Sirius points out. Lily beams.

“I’ll invite the Malfoys over. Lady Malfoy is lovely, even if you dislike Lord Malfoy. But he’ll help you come up with a guest list, and as Lord Black, everyone invited will come. And this is the first party you’ve held as Lord Black, so it’ll likely be somewhat small-- you only want to invite people you are extending alliances to. I would suggest the Minister, of course, to offer your thanks, along with Madam Bones. Invite Lady Longbottom as well, I think you’d get along well with her. The Malfoys are a must at this point; they’re too politically powerful to not extend an invitation to.”

“How do you know these people will come?”

“You’re Lord Black. Beyond just the title, you have a great wealth, a strong bloodline which clearly ties you back to the Fair Folk, and you hold six seats in Wizengamot,” Lily answers, taking a chocolate from a plate which just appeared next to her.

“I suppose we ought to get Kreacher then,” Sirius says, sighing. “He hates me.”

“I doubt he will,” Lily replies. “Kreacher!” With a crack, the house elf appears. He gives Sirius a once over, shocked.

“Lord Sirius Black has returned to 12 Grimmauld Place! He is different, yes, very different! And Lord Black has restored Grimmauld Place to its former glory! What can Kreacher be getting Lord Black?”

“Kreacher, we were thinking of putting on a celebration of sorts for my release and return to society. It will be a smaller scale event compared to other Pureblood functions, but it will serve its purpose quite well. If you could begin stocking up on food-- you have access to the large trunk in the Master’s bedroom which contains the money you’ll need-- it would be very much appreciated. Keep the house clean as well,” Sirius instructs. “Lily, is there anything else?”

“Kreacher, I’d like to talk to you in private. It’s about Regulus Arcturus Black.” Sirius stands up, nods to Lily, and leaves.

“Heiress Black, I don’t have infor--”

 

“All of Regulus Arcturus Black’s former commands are declared null and void. Tell me his last order to you before he died, and give me a brief overview of how he died.” Kreacher suddenly looks very resigned.

“Yes, Heiress Black. He told me to not tell any Black of the circumstances of his death and he gave me a locket and told me to destroy it. He died in a lake of Inferi after fetching the locket. The lake of Inferi was created by the Dark Lord.”

“You talked about the locket. Bring me this locket,” Lily commands. Kreacher nods and disappears with a crack, and then reappears with a golden necklace in hand. There’s a large gold oval hanging from the chain with a serpentine ‘S’ engraved with green stones. Lily examines the locket and the magic around it, feeling the same dark aura she feels around her scar.

Lily lays her hand on the locket and begins the ritual.

“I, Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin and the Ancient House of Gaunt, recall whatever magic Tom Marvolo Riddle has invoked to alter Salazar Slytherin’s locket as is my right to recall magic belonging to the Slytherin and Gaunt Houses. May the magic he laid on this locket remove itself and become magical power returning to its rightful owner. So mote it be.”

There’s a hiss and a black wisp of something escapes from the locket, immediately dissipating, while a beam of pure silver light hits Lily in the chest. Lily staggers under the weight of the magic as it seeps into her magical core.  
\--

Two hours later, Lily emerges from the room wearing the locket and floating on a high from the sudden increase in core power.

“I just destroyed a Horcrux and harnessed its magical power!” Lily announces as she laughs. Sirius gives her a raised eyebrow.

“I think you need to stay here for the night. Kreacher, could you help her settle in?”

“As Master wishes,” Kreacher says.

Instead of resting like Lily knows Sirius wants her to, she reads the article on Sirius’ emancipation which Lord Henry sent her.

BREAKING NEWS! Sirius Black, Pureblood Royalty, Tragically and Wrongfully Imprisoned!

It was quite a normal day for the three wizards and witches who recently acquired power to begin the process of Lord Sirius Black’s emancipation. That is, until Heiress Black, who also goes by Miss Smythin, a student at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, made an alliance with Lady Slytherin in order to free Lord Black from his wrongful imprisonment.

Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was approached by Lady Slytherin and her plea for help in the emancipation process of Lord Black. Lady Slytherin and Heiress Black had discovered several things in searching Lord Black’s files. First of all, Heiress Black had contacted the late James Potter and Lily Potter during Samhain night and found several disturbing things which all pointed to Lord Black having no role in the turning in of the Potter family. Upon that, she began searching the files of Lord Black and found that he had never had a trial-- and nothing in his file incriminated him to be sentenced to Azkaban.

Cornelius Fudge wrote us, saying, “I was horrified upon this realization. What severe mistakes the previous administration had made! They had subverted justice for Lord Black even as they gave a trial to the absolutely mad Bellatrix Lestrange. As Minister of Magic, I had to acquiesce to Lady Slytherin’s request. My values of justice and morality deemed it impossible to refuse.”

The story came out when Lord Black agreed to testify under Veritaserum during interrogation. The story was this: James Potter and Lily Potter went into hiding through the Fidelius Charm and had switched their Secret Keeper last minute after Lord Black volunteered himself as a decoy. He said, “I was the obvious choice for Secret Keeper. I would be targeted for sure, so I told them to switch their Secret Keeper to a person which remained under the radar. That was Peter Pettigrew. Besides, I’m the oath-sworn godfather of one of their children. If I had turned them in, I would likely be without magic or dead. I thought that would come out at my trial, but I never got one.” Lord Black also explained that Peter Pettigrew was a rat Animagus and Pettigrew had been the one to explode the sidewalk before cutting off his own finger and disappearing.

So now the truth is out: Lord Sirius Black, the best friend of James and Lily Potter, all three betrayed by their friend Peter Pettigrew, and Lord Sirius Black abandoned by both sides until now, when justice has finally been sought. The Lord Black was wrongfully imprisoned for a decade, forced to suffer the unjust punishment of dementors-- he was forced to relive his worst experiences for a decade and lost ten years of his life, most likely more from the malnourishment he suffered at Azkaban. We were unable to reach out to Lord Black as he is currently recovering from the countless traumas he experienced while in Azkaban, but we are told to expect a full recovery and a return to both the political and social scene. As Lord Black, he has six seats in Wizengamot to his name, promising that he will be a prominent political player. A settlement is also to be awarded to him for his treatment and wrongful imprisonment without a trial in Azkaban.

See page 3 for Lord Sirius Black’s transformation from Azkaban-- a joyful, handsome face to a gaunt (though still handsome) man.

See page 4 for more details on the Fidelius Charm.

See page 8 for more information on the legal backing of Lord Sirius Black and the mistakes of the previous administration.

Lily nods in approval at the article before quickly penning a response and sending it back to Lord Henry.  
\--

\--Headmaster’s Office, Hogwarts, A Day Later--

An owl flew in the open window, dropping the Daily Prophet unceremoniously on Dumbledore’s lap. Dumbledore frowned at the owl before turning his attention to the newspaper, which screamed Sirius’ Black’s emancipation at the top of the page. The sound of a teacup shattering resounded through the office.

“Sirius Black? Emancipated?!” Dumbledore exclaimed. He stood up, ignoring the spilled tea and newspaper, and began pacing his office.

This was not good. Sirius Black was now indebted to the girl, Heiress Black-- why was she the Heiress again? Maybe he should pay more attention to Lily Smythin, anyway-- and Black probably blamed him for his stint in Azkaban-- though the blame was well-placed, it was for the Greater Good and bloody inconvenient for Dumbledore.

The only way Dumbledore could think to win Sirius back for his plans in preparing Lloyd was by winning over Lily Smythin. And if she was too difficult, a few well-placed Compulsions would do the trick. Miss Smythin never wore her rings, anyway, which was a rather stupid decision but it made so many things easier.  
\--

By the end of the week, Lucius Malfoy’s plan has already completed its first stage with the help of Lady Slytherin and Lord Black’s votes. Lily has retrieved her Family Grimoires and Activo Relati and placed them in a mokeskin pouch with an Extendable Charm, among other protective charms, and consistently carries it on her person. Now there was only one other thing to freak out over-- Sirius Black’s upcoming Early New Year’s Celebration, placed strategically between Christmas galas and New Year’s Parties and other functions.

Lily was also worrying about the lack of retrieval of the Invisibility Cloak. She was rather upset about it-- and she made her displeasure clear to Griphook, who’d immediately said that he’d send out more goblins and focus more attention on that task.

The Malfoys had been a tremendous help to Sirius and he’d reluctantly admitted it; Lady Malfoy had helped Lily with re-decorating and decorating for the celebration and they’d gotten all the Dark artifacts to be subtly concealed and part of the decor or moved to the private rooms, the library, the office, or, as a last resort, Gringotts; Lord Malfoy had helped Lily and Sirius with the list of invitees and given them the addresses to send invitations to; and Draco Malfoy had sat in with them, discussed rather heatedly political subjects, brought Sirius to care again, been a source of support for Lily, and went with Lily to fetch the Grimoires and Activo Relati. At the end of the debate, invitations had been sent to the Malfoys, the Longbottoms, the Minister, the Bones, the Parkinsons, the Abbotts, the Greengrass family, and the Shacklebolts. Lily was just surprised that no one had been hexed while residing in the Black townhouse.

She’d made visits to her three Manors, telling herself she’d look at the Gaunt house later-- but really, she was just putting it off since she was unwilling to go there. Lily also had to get Pettigrew, but she decides to put that off for after the party but before the New Year’s Parties. After all, box aside all nasty business before entering a new year.  
\--

“Lord Black, thank you for your kind invitation,” Lady Longbottom says. “This is my nephew, Heir Neville Longbottom.”

“Oh, Heiress Black has told me about Heir Longbottom-- all good things, I promise,” Sirius says, falling into pureblood customs rather nicely.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Longbottom. Heir Neville Longbottom,” she greets the two. Then the Malfoys arrive and it’s introductions again as they enter the ballroom, and then the Parkinsons, followed by the Abbotts, and then Kingsley Shacklebolt arrives, shortly followed by the Greengrasses. Spaced evenly are platters of small sandwiches and delicate glasses of champagne, which the guests help themselves to as they mingle in the ballroom. Lily and Sirius make a few obligatory rounds before Lily splits off to her friends and trusts that Sirius will hold his own at this celebration.

“I think the dances will begin shortly,” Lily says. “I think Lord Black’s planning on asking Lady Malfoy to dance, just to annoy your father, Draco.”

“Of course,” Draco laughs. He doesn’t fail to notice the way the House creates a small spotlight on Lily and on Lord Black; where Lord Black moves, the flowers seem to grow taller and brighter, the lights shine brighter, and the carpets nudge people to make way. The same thing happens with Lily.

The music begins and the adults begin making their way onto the floor.

“Could I have this dance?” Neville says, addressing Astoria Greengrass with a polite smile. Astoria smiles back and nods, going out onto the floor with him. Draco turns to look at Lily.

“Heiress Black, may I have this dance?”

“Heir Malfoy, I would be honoured.”

The two make their way onto the floor as well-- two children, but two powerful children connected far more with the Fair Folk than they should be at their age.

They stay on the dance floor, twirling and stepping and surviving each dance as they follow the music and let their instincts take over. The dances become quicker and quicker, complications building upon complications, until Lily’s aware that she’s twirling five turns in milliseconds but she’s not dizzy, and they’re moving so quickly and so closely that one wrong foot placement could severely injure the other. The music doesn’t stop, and neither do they.

“Heiress Black must be a pureblood. Look at the way she dances; no one but a pureblood has ever successfully completed that dance,” Lady Longbottom says to Sirius.

“She’s a half-blood.”

“She acts like a pure-blood-- like the instincts are engraved in her.”

“How so?”

“Heiress Black’s face and mannerisms give it away. Either she’s been lying about being a half-blood, or she has a rare genotype for a half-blood.”

“Perhaps. She was recently introduced to the Wizarding World, so I must say I couldn’t be more proud of her. And my thanks must also extend to Lord Malfoy,” Sirius admits.

“Lord Malfoy?”

“He’s been teaching her in my absence.”

“Not so much teaching her as placing her in positions where she learns to rely on her instincts,” Lord Malfoy replies, coming up to them. “You have a talented Heiress, Lord Black.”

“Thank you, Lord Malfoy. So tell me about your plans for Muggleborns again?” Sirius says. “I know about the magical orphanages but Heiress Black told me that you wanted an early introduction for Muggleborns into the Wizarding World.”

“That is correct. Muggleborns will be tracked at the Ministry so that at age eight, we can give them a proper introduction. If signs of abuse show, they will promptly be relocated to magical orphanages and be given classes in the normal subjects as well as another language, magical basics, and Wizarding culture. At age eight, Muggleborns will begin taking the same classes as well instead of going to a Muggle school.”

“And if the parents don’t comply?” Lady Longbottom asks.

“They will be relocated, of course. Muggleborns are part of our future generations, they belong to Wizarding Britain, not to the Muggle world, and the sooner the parents learn this, the easier the transition will be. And we must take care of our own future. We’re also thinking of having a subclause that provides an opportunity for families-- who are approved and are ingrained in Wizarding culture-- to adopt from the magical orphanages,” Lord Malfoy explains.

“Isn’t this a little overkill?” Lord Parkinson says as he comes up.

“I think no. If we look at our current generations, we see Muggleborns coming into the Wizarding World with no knowledge of Wizarding Britain’s culture and sometimes not even having a foundation in magic. Because of this, they begin slowing the learning of other students down and they also begin to demand that our culture conform to them instead of the other way around. It’s like the idea of immigration that Muggle governments have-- immigrants must prove that they know the culture and will adapt to it before they are allowed through to become citizens. We cannot have Muggleborns begin upturning culture they don’t even begin to understand, and we certainly cannot have them trying to rip up the roots of our culture in an attempt to make culture become Muggle-ized.”

“It’s a compelling argument, Lord Malfoy. I will have to research further on my own, however, before I can promise my votes,” Lady Longbottom says. Lord Malfoy smiles in response.

“I would not expect anything less, Lady Longbottom.”

“So how has Heiress Black conformed in such a short time?”

“She’s made the effort and she has the instincts for it. Muggleborns do not have an instinct to guide them through our manners and customs, which is why they actually need to learn the culture.”

“Ah, this all ties back to the Fair Folk and genetics, does it not?”

“Of course it does. Nearly everything does, nowadays.”

The music stops and the guests begin trickling into the dining hall. Lily quickly makes her way up next to Lord Black to create a sort of reception.

Kreacher’s outdone himself a thousand times over for this celebration; everything is polished, dust has nearly been eradicated, and Kreacher has cooked to surpass his ability. The effort doesn’t go unnoticed by the guests; there are appropriate oohs and aahs and compliments upon entering the dining hall, and once the food begins to be served, there’s a state of near shock.

“You only have Kreacher?” Lady Parkinson exclaims, surprised.

“Only one house elf is incredible for this end result,” Lord Shacklebolt comments.

“Yes, we only had Kreacher. The townhouse seemed to want to help us as well though, so he didn’t have to do nearly as much cleaning as we expected,” Lily explains.

“Oh yes. Old townhouses are brilliant in that respect.”  
\--

“Apparently Lily Smythin is Heiress Black!” Ronald Weasley proclaims. “I knew there was something wrong with her!”

“Why, what’s wrong with her?” Potter asks, confusion written across his face.

“She’s related to the Blacks! They’re the Darkest family Wizarding Britain’s got! They’re full of pureblood nonsense and they’re evil pricks, the lot of them.”

“Well, Sirius Black can’t be that bad. He’s innocent of serving You-Know-Who and he was friends with my dad. And he was in Gryffindor.”

“Sirius Black is some sort of exception. But you know Lily’s ‘I’m better than the lot of you’ attitude; she’s just like the rest of the Blacks!”  
\--

The day after Sirius’ celebration, Lily Apparates herself to Hogwarts. She promptly begins to walk towards the Gryffindor tower, letting a cold fury begin to seep through her. A pale gold owl rests on her arm; it was an owl she’d found at Diagon Alley and decided to buy along with her own owl-- a pure black owl with silvery eyes.

“Weasley!” she calls. Ron stands up from his game of Wizarding chess.

“How did you get in here?”

 

“The Fat Lady let me in, what else? Do you have the rat with you?”

“Scabbers? Yeah, he’s right here.”

“Hm. Well, I have your owl, so if you could give me the rat--”

“...Alright, but take care of him,” Ron says, reluctantly handing Lily the rat. The owl flutters onto his shoulder as Lily sets down the cage and beginning owl care supplies.

“Yes, I know. The dementors at Azkaban will surely be happy to have him,” Lily grins, the grin suddenly all wrong but not wrong at all. Ron looks at the girl-- her pale skin, her sharp angles and bright green eyes which draw in too much light, like her raven black hair which draws in an abnormal amount of light, even as it stays black. All of it was strange but not that strange but put together it felt wrong-- too sharp, too cruel, too cold-- but not really. The sharp angles screamed danger, just like Draco Malfoy’s face sometimes did with the light absorbing itself into platinum blond hair but coming back out cold and the angles seemingly becoming sharper, but Ron had to admit that those faces stirred up something in him like he was trying to remember something, something important to who he was, far unlike Hermione Granger’s suddenly very disgustingly normal face.

“Okay,” Ron says, deciding to not question the girl too much. “Is it true you’re Heiress Black?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re related to the Malfoys?!”

“The Blacks, actually, through my great-great-grandmother. If you’ll excuse me, I have an Animagus to force a transformation out of,” Lily says, voice cold and cutting. She turns and leaves.  
\--

“No, I’m sorry! I was scared, you don’t understand, he was going to kill me if I didn’t--”

“Oh, shut up. Incarcerous. Crucio.” The spells are followed by eight “Sectumsempra” spells and another “Crucio”. As Pettigrew suffers under the Crucio, Lily casts another. “Sine Beato.”

“That spell imitates a Dementor’s presence. Imagine that for the rest of your life-- shame, isn’t it? Oh, sorry… it’s not, the pathetic excuse you are for a man, much less a wizard, is practically worthless. Struggling with a weak magical core, a lack of intelligence, and heaps too much cowardice.” Lily’s aware that her Crucios have stopped, so she casts again. “Crucio.” Pettigrew screams as Lily smirks. Then she stops the spell.

“Obliviate. Aequabilis.” she casts as she lets the cold fury out. She Apparates back to the Ministry with the bound and slightly injured man.

The next headline of the Daily Prophet proclaims Peter Pettigrew’s capture.

The Rat Traitor Peter Pettigrew Apprehended and Awaiting Trial!

Peter Pettigrew, who is now infamous for his illegal Rat Animagus and now well known betrayal of both the Potters and Lord Black was apprehended by Heiress Black, who had had her suspicions of Ronald Weasley’s pet rat, Scabbers, since learning of the true story behind that fateful night at Godric’s Hollow. 

“I’ve been sleeping with a grown man in a Rat Animagus form ever since Hogwarts?!” was Ronald Weasley’s reaction when we reached out to him. “I mean, I had my suspicions ever since Lily--” here he was paused by Heiress Black elbowing him in the side with a frown, “Sorry, Heiress Black started giving my rat the evil eye but I didn’t think it was this bad!”

When we reached out to Heiress Black for comment, she said this: “I’m glad he was apprehended before anything truly bad could happen. He was residing with Ronald Weasley, Lloyd Potter’s friend and roommate, so Lloyd Potter was in danger ever since setting foot in Hogwarts.”

This revelation of Pettigrew’s residence in so close quarters with Lloyd Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, who Pettigrew must have abounding hatred toward, is a disturbing revelation concerning the safety of Hogwarts.

See page 11 for Rita Skeeter’s interview with Heiress Black.

Lily remembers that interview; she also remembers explicitly threatening Skeeter to only print what she said or risk facing the consequences. Ms Skeeter had immediately put away her Quick Quotes Quill. Instead of focusing on her capture of Pettigrew, Ms Skeeter had talked about her response to Ron. To that, Lily replied, “Mr Weasley is not my close friend, nor has he ever called me Lily before. In fact, I’m sure that he’s judging me already on my relation to the Blacks, whom the Weasleys have had a longstanding feud with.”

“So you don’t approve of Mr Weasley?”

“I think Mr Weasley has his own strengths, but I am not close with him. I would say that we are civil acquaintances.”

“What of Mr Malfoy?”

“Lord Malfoy has been a great help in introducing me to Wizarding culture.”

“And your opinion of his son?”

“Draco is, at the very least, not a political enemy.”

“So you would say you have an alliance?”

“Ms Skeeter, you were in Slytherin house. You know that Slytherin House has its own world of politics.”

“Oh, but our readers in other Houses don’t. Now, tell me about this capture of Pettigrew. How did he get those rather severe cuts? Surely a first-year wasn’t capable of doing that.”  
\--

When Lily comes back to Hogwarts, people begin to crowd her, asking her about Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and the Malfoys. She smiles and plays her student role as much as she can but it’s almost like she’s become an authority figure to be looked up to overnight. As Lily shares her stories, the students crowd around her but keep their distance, almost as if they know that Lily is a witch too close to the Fair Folk to ever be normal.


	10. Magical Creatures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily finds a Horcrux, talks to Dumbledore, kills a lemon drop, tries to help Hagrid with his dragon but no one listens to her, and figures out who's been drinking unicorn blood. Also, she takes her exams. (I wish I had near-eidetic memory tbh)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I'm back again! Again, all feedback is loved and appreciated :) and thanks to everyone for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Lily receives her Invisibility Cloak a few days later in the mail, with an apologetic note from Griphook explaining that the reason why it took so long was that the Cloak had actually been in possession of one Lloyd James Potter. She sighs at that; no doubt Potter had been up to all sorts of shenanigans after curfew with that Cloak. Lily pockets the cloak in her mokeskin pouch after warding the cloak with a plethora of spells including protective curses to react whenever someone who wasn’t her touched the cloak. She’d also cast a strong Notice-Me-Not charm on the cloak. Hopefully, that would be enough; if not, she’d have to ask the goblins to retrieve the cloak again.

 

One day in the Great Hall, Pansy leans over to whisper to Lily.

 

“Dumbledore’s looking at you, do you know what he wants?” she asks. Lily shrugs before noticing a Gryffindor fourth-year girl walking in her direction with a small note and a smug grin.

 

“I think we’ll find out,” Lily replies as her eyes meet the Gryffindor’s. Pansy follows Lily’s gaze, catalogues the smirk on the Gryffindor’s face, and her eyes narrow.

 

“She’s gleeful about this. What, do you think she thinks you’ll be in trouble?” Pansy mutters.

 

“He probably just wants to talk to me because of my Dogfather,” Lily replies, rolling her eyes. “I just hope he doesn’t send any Compulsion charms at me.”

 

“We’d tell you if you were acting strangely,” Pansy snorts. “He doesn’t know subtlety if it hit him in the face.”

 

“Miss Smythin, Headmaster Dumbledore wanted me to give you this note. You’re supposed to meet him in his office at seven tonight… what did you do to get expelled?” the girl asks snidely. Lily raises an arched eyebrow at her as the Slytherins around her bristle and turn to face the girl.

 

“Expelled? Hopefully not, considering I wasn’t at Hogwarts this Yule break-- unless Dumbledore suddenly got the authority to expel students for things outside of school?”

 

“ _Headmaster_ Dumbledore!” the girl insists, voice a little shrill, but she leaves.

 

“Well, I wonder what he wants from you,” Draco says, jumping into the conversation.

 

“Do you think it has anything to do with Lord Black? I mean, it’s pretty obvious that he would want Lord Black back on his side,” Blaise theorized. “And the best way to do that is through you.”

 

“Lord Black is completely his own person, I don’t know why he would turn to me,” Lily scoffed.

 

\--Headmaster’s Office, 7 P.M.--

 

“Hello, Headmaster, you wanted me?” Lily asks as she enters the office. Dumbledore stands up and smiles, blue eyes twinkling.

 

“Yes, Lily, my dear girl. I heard about that awful travesty with your godfather and I wanted to say that I would be willing to help you with anything at all, even if it’s just for a talk,” Dumbledore says. Lily smiles slightly, which Dumbledore counts as a win.

 

“Thank you, Headmaster. I’ll keep that in mind… is that all?”

 

“Yes, would you like a lemon drop before you leave?” Dumbledore asks, offering one of the sweets. Lily accepts it and Dumbledore’s eyes twinkle more furiously.

 

The moment Lily leaves, she throws the lemon drop down seven stories of Hogwarts and it shatters in shards on the pavement. The lemon drop had coated her fingertips in a clammy feeling-- no doubt it was laced with some sort of potion.

 

\--

 

She learns from Draco Malfoy later that he’d hexed the Longbottom heir-- to which she’d just sighed at, before he gives her another piece of information. Apparently he’d only hexed Neville after he refused to tell him about how Lloyd was doing in Quidditch. After that, Draco had learned that Uncle Severus was refereeing the Quidditch match of Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. Lily raises an eyebrow at that.

 

“Why is he so concerned with Quidditch all of a sudden?”

 

“Probably wants to stop Gryffindor where they are in the rankings,” Draco hypothesizes. Lily shakes her head.

 

“I think Dumbledore’s worried about Lloyd so he’s setting Severus there,” Lily replies. “After that whole thing with Pettigrew, I’d be shaken too.”

 

“It’s plausible.”

 

\--

 

The match goes on until Potter catches the Snitch in five minutes. At the same time, Lily notices from the corner of her eye the referee slipping away. After a quick moment of debate, Lily pulls the Invisibility Cloak over her head and follows him. She hears a faint rustling above her and Lily looks up to see one Lloyd Potter on a broom, trailing Severus as well.

 

“I d-don’t know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…”

 

“Oh, I thought we’d keep this private. Students aren’t supposed to know about the Philosopher’s Stone, after all.”

 

“I-I d-don’t know what y-you want me t-t-to do, Severus.”

 

“Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid’s yet?”

 

“B-b-but Severus, I--”

 

“You don’t want me as your enemy, Quirrell.”

 

“I-I don’t know what you--”

 

“You know perfectly well what I mean.” An owl hooted and Lily couldn’t hear the conversation for a couple seconds. “--your little bit of hocus pocus. I’m waiting.”

 

“B-but I d-d-don’t--”

 

“Very well. We’ll have another little chat soon, when you’ve had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie.” Lily observed Quirrell for a moment-- he was standing quite still, almost as if he were petrified, but his clenched hands which were slowly relaxing gave him away. Quirrell was obviously trying to calm himself down-- whether to prevent himself from ripping Severus apart or to prevent himself from hyperventilating, Lily wasn’t quite sure. She knows which conclusion Potter’s reached, however, when she looks up to see his aghast face. Lily begins walking back to the castle and finds her way to the Come and Go Room. Merlin knew she needed to think things through-- but first she was curious to see the Room’s natural state. She holds that thought in her mind as she paces the corridor and silently, the wall begins to expand, revealing a heavy-cast iron door. _And they left, walking under the hills of the west for a new world, for they could not find the beauty of heavy-wrought cold iron or castles of stone._ Lily walks through and finds herself in a mess of things. She strides through them, wading through the mess and moving things with her will so they all end up sorted nicely in stacks against the wall. One catches her attention, however-- it’s a bust, but it’s what the bust’s wearing that draws her eyes. The diadem, which perfectly matches every description of Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem that she’s ever read, rests on a statue in front of her. She takes it and throws it in her mokeskin pouch and runs out of the room, in search of the Grey Lady.

 

Finally, she realizes how fruitless-- and stupid-- her search is when she could just call the ghost to her.

 

“As Lady Slytherin, owner of this castle and the grounds it rests on, I call thee, Helena Ravenclaw, to my presence.” Lily lets a satisfied smile out when the ghost appears, the Grey Lady’s face all sharp angles even in a misty form.

 

“Who are you, and how did you call me?” she asks suspiciously.

 

“Helena Ravenclaw, when you put your mother’s diadem in the forests of Albania, did you tell anyone about it? Perhaps a Tom Marvolo Riddle while he was a student at Hogwarts fifty years ago?”

 

“What? I never touched my mother’s diade--”

 

“We both know that’s a lie. Please, I need you to tell me-- Tom Riddle may have found the diadem and I need to confirm it.”

 

“I… did tell Tom Riddle about my mother’s diadem. He was very persuasive, I couldn’t-- I didn’t know what he would become.”

 

“Thank you for the confirmation. I believe he made the diadem into a Horcrux and I trust that this information will never be parted to anyone, much less the Headmaster of this school, unless you’d like to suffer the consequences,” Lily says. The ghost looks affronted.

 

“I would never tell Albus Dumbledore this! Do you take me for an idiot?”

 

“I only wanted to be sure. You can trust few enough as it is,” Lily replies. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some recalling of magic to do and a boost to my magical core to add.”

 

“Lady Slytherin,” breathes the Grey Lady as Lily disappears.

 

\--

 

Lily returns to the Slytherin common room on another high.

 

“You look cheerful,” Pansy comments. Lily laughs.

 

“You try sucking the magic out of a Horcrux and adding it to your magical core without being cheerful afterward,” Lily replies.

 

“You what?” Lily winces.

 

“Okay, so I guess I have some explaining to do. A little bit, mind you, it’s not that bad.”

 

Pansy takes in Lily’s story without feeling too much betrayal; after all, Lily was trying to ensure her own safety, and the nature of a secret was that it was known to few.

 

“So I’m one of three other people who know this about you? I’m ranking above Potter?” Pansy asks. Lily nods. She’s still bouncing up and down on her toes. “You need to calm yourself, actually. We have Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs in ten minutes.”

 

“I’ll finish riding out this high probably in half an hour.”

 

“That’s it, do you have Sobering Potion?”

 

“You, Pansy, are brilliant, speaking of which _no I don’t have the potion or else I would’ve took it_ so could you be a dear and raid Professor Snape’s stores for me?” Pansy looks at Lily’s state and decides that yes, it might be better for her to raid Professor Snape’s stores as Lily would likely easily be distracted by Amortentia or something.

 

\--

 

Lily catalogues every change in appearance Quirrell has; he pales and thins and Lily’s sure it’s because he’s either losing his life force or he’s staying up too late plotting ways to get the Philosopher’s Stone. The fake Philosopher’s Stone, actually, so Lily doesn’t know why she’s worrying so much. Maybe she’s worried about family? Lloyd Potter is technically a member of her House and under her care and Dumbledore is obviously risking Potter’s life. (Lily knows she’s worried because she can’t tell Potter yet-- he wouldn’t trust her and he was too embedded with the Light-- but at the same time she wants him to be safe because he’s her only living blood relative alive that can, on some level, understand her. And maybe she just wants a family like the type she read about in books, but she could examine that desire later.)

 

The teachers are also piling on tremendous amounts of homework and Lily wants to scream at the busywork. She ends up reusing essays; some professors had gotten it into their heads that re-assigning essays would help them prepare for their exams, which meant Lily just wiped the parchment clear of the professors’ comments and submitted the essay again. She hadn’t been caught yet.

 

“How are you getting through all this and still doing Quidditch?” Pansy groans. Lily rolls her eyes.

 

“I’ve been reusing my essays, what do you think? I kept them in my fifth compartment-- oh, that’s sad. I replaced the fourth compartment with the mokeskin pouch, I wonder what I could use the fourth compartment for.”

 

“Just stick your broom stuff in the fourth compartment; that’s what Draco’s planning to do.”

 

“Mm. Did you know, just the other day Hermione Granger tried to drag me into her study group with Potter and Weasley?” Lily asks, standing up to look out the window. The two girls were in Lily’s room, working on their homework and studying.

 

“Really? Exams are ten weeks away, and she’s already studying?”

 

“The professors seem to be thinking along the same lines as her. Easter holidays aren’t nearly as fun as Christmas, what with all the busywork they’ve been assigning.”

 

“She’s crazy.”

 

“She has near-eidetic memory, like me, so I don’t know why she’s studying.”

 

“Do you mean you don’t have to study?”

 

“Not really. I’ve been looking into the third year curriculum in my free time, actually, and into Durmstrang’s second year Dark Arts curriculum.”

 

“You’re just as bad as Granger except you want to learn, not whatever Granger’s aiming to do.”

 

“Get a high score on her exams? Yeah, I think I’m going to go into exams without study to see how I do.”

 

“Idiot,” Pansy says, though affectionately. Lily turns around and grins.

 

“Anyway, do you need any help?” she asks. “By the way, dittany is not used in poisons. As a paste, when applied, it heals surface wounds. Extended periods of use will heal nearly anything though it doesn’t help with healing broken bones.”

 

“How do you even know this?”

 

“I pay attention in class, Pansy.”

 

“Touche.”

 

\--

 

Lily rests her hand on Hogwarts’ wall to do another cursory check to make sure no new dangerous creatures have made themselves a home in the castle and promptly realizes that something is wrong-- something is very wrong and it’s going on near Hagrid’s hut. Opening the Marauder’s Map, she notices that Hagrid is in the library, near Potter, Weasley, and Granger. Lily lets out a put-upon sigh, but she does have to ensure the safety of Hogwarts. She puts on the Invisibility Cloak-- she started to prefer it over Disillusionment Charms as those tended to sap her strength and take up magical power from her core-- and makes her way to the library.

 

“But it’s against our laws. Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks’ Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It’s hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we’re keeping dragons in the back garden-- anyway, you can’t tame dragons, it’s dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie’s got off wild ones in Romania.”

 

“But there aren’t wild dragons in Britain?”

 

“Of course there are. Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who’ve spotted them, to make them forget.”

 

“So what on earth’s Hagrid up to?”

 

Lily had heard enough. She guessed she’d wait until the dragon hatched before going to talk to Hagrid.

 

A week later, Draco plops down on one of the sofas in the common room. “So, Lily, apparently Hagrid has a dragon.”

 

“I know. Has it hatched yet?”

 

“I just watched it hatch through the window. Granger, Weasley, and Potter were there as well.”

 

“I’ll go have a talk with Hagrid within the next two weeks. Maybe Weasley, Granger, and Potter can convince him to let the thing go. Do you know what breed dragon it is?”

 

“It looked like a Norwegian Ridgeback. Why does it matter?”

 

“Breeding dragons is outlawed except for Parseltongues as they have some level of communication with the dragon. And I want the dragon,” Lily says. “Why not just let Hagrid take care of it?”

 

“You don’t know a thing about dragons, Lily.”

 

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll just put it on my bucket list… I’m sure I could introduce some Hebridean Blacks to the Forbidden Forest later,” Lily acquiesces. Draco stares at her with a horrified glare. Lily just smiles and goes back to enchanting her black nail polish.

 

\-- A Week Later--

 

“Lily, as Lady of the House Potter, you’re supposed to keep everyone else safe, right?” Draco asks. Lily looks up from her book, Dark Arts Basics.

 

“Yes… what happened with Potter?”

 

“Charlie Weasley is a dragon tamer and he’s been in touch with Granger, Potter, and Weasley.”

 

“Where are they meeting? At what time?” Lily asks sharply. “We’re going to have to tell Professor McGonagall to be watching for them.”

 

“The tallest tower at midnight on Saturday, according to the letter. I also heard something about an Invisibility Cloak.”

 

“Potter hasn’t noticed it’s missing yet? I’m glad the goblins took it away from him, if this is how he treats a heirloom of the Potter and Peverell lines.”

 

“Do you really mean--”

 

“Yes, it’s the one belonging to Ignotus Peverell. I’m off to talk with Professor McGonagall and have a few words with Hagrid.”

 

\--

 

Lily knocks on the door to Hagrid’s hut. His face peers out suspiciously. “Lily.”

 

“Could I come in, Hagrid?” she asks. Hagrid shakes his head.

 

“Sorry, the inside is a bit of a mess.”

 

“Oh, I don’t mind.” Lily watches as Hagrid flounders a little before sighing and letting her in. “Is that the Norwegian Ridgeback Charlie Weasley’s friends are picking up? Can I point out that this is not a very good plan, by the way?”

 

“How did yeh know that?!”

 

“Draco, Hogwarts, Granger, Weasley, and Potter being horrible at keeping things secret. A plethora of things, really.” Lily looks up to Hagrid. “Hagrid, this thing is big enough to fly! Why is he still inside?”

 

“I… I can’ let it out.”

 

“The Forbidden Forest is right there! What’s its name?”

 

“Norbert.”

 

“Okay. ::Norbert, can you fly yet?::”

 

“::A speaker?::”

 

“::Not quite, a snake speaker but we should be able to understand each other decently. Can you fly?::”

 

“::I should be able to, Speaker.::”

 

“::Since you’re growing a little bit big for this hut, we need to move you to Norway, where you’ll find other dragons like you. At midnight on Saturday, could you be at the tallest tower of Hogwarts? A group of dragon tamers will be there to move you.::”

 

“::Yes, Speaker. Will I be able to roam freely?::”

 

“::I believe that to be the case. Are you male or female? You look like a female but your name is a male’s.::”

 

“::Female, Speaker.::”

 

“::Hm. I think your name is better suited as Noberta. Very well, don’t forget. I will let Hagrid know to let you out so you can be there on time.::” Lily makes a switch back to English. “Hagrid, let her leave your hut at midnight on Saturday. She can fly there.”

 

“What?”

 

“Tell Potter, Granger, and Weasley to not come and take Norberta. She can fly there on her own,” Lily repeats. “It’s all been settled.”

 

\--

 

Lily has the sneaking suspicion that Hagrid won’t listen to her and she rather feels like screaming.

 

“Draco, they’re not listening to me!” she bewails, throwing herself across her bed. Draco snorts but Lily can see that a plan is forming in his brain. “No Draco, don’t you dare go out there.”

 

“But Lily--”

 

“But nothing, you know just as well as I do that you’re likely to be caught and Professor McGonagall won’t listen to anything you have to say incriminating her precious lions,” Lily scolds, sitting up. “I’m going though, since McGonagall has a soft spot for me. And I have an invisibility cloak.” Draco studies her appraisingly, then shrugs.

 

“You’ve got a point. Okay, go do your thing and protect Potter. God am I glad I’m not a Lord yet.”

 

“I want to die.”

 

\--Saturday--

 

Lily shrugs on her Cloak and makes her way to Hagrid’s hut. Potter and Granger exit, struggling to hold a box, and Lily sighs at their idiocy. They learned Wingardium Leviosa ages ago, why weren’t they using it? She doesn’t do anything though, only watching as they hike up the tower. Lily rolls her eyes as she passes them on the stairs, and when the two of them finally make it, Lily’s sitting on the ledge of the tower. She casts off her cloak.

 

“Now tell me, the two of you, why didn’t Hagrid listen to me? Norberta is big enough to fly!” she exclaims.

 

“Where did you come from?”

 

“I was always here, Disillusionment charms are always useful.”

 

“I suppose Hagrid just can’t trust snakes, like a reasonable person!” Potter snarks back. Lily narrows her eyes before taking a deep breath and laughing.

 

“Well then, good luck getting back to your tower without being caught,” she replies. “Oh, I think the dragon tamers are coming.” Lily disappears and then throws the Invisibility Cloak over herself. She watches them beginning to rig Norberta’s box up to their brooms and Lily decides to go down and alert Professor McGonagall. Lucky for her, Professor McGonagall is standing right at the bottom of the tower.

 

“Professor McGonagall,” Lily says. She abruptly turns to face Lily.

 

“What are you doing out of bed, Miss Smythin?”

 

“Following two of your lions and Hagrid’s dragon,” Lily replies. Professor McGonagall’s eyebrows raise. “Granger and Potter are up in the tower as of now.”

 

“That is a ridiculous story, Miss Smythin.”

 

“Exactly why I’m frustrated as of now. I gave my advice to Hagrid-- to let the dragon bloody well fly up to the tower by itself, which it’s very much capable of doing, but no.”

 

“Miss Smythin, I’m ashamed that you would make something like this up.”

 

“Do you want my memory?” Lily asks with a raised eyebrow. “I’m more than willing to share it if that’s what it takes. Oh look, there come Granger and Potter.” Professor McGonagall looks up and sees the two, looking appropriately scandalised before turning to Lily.

 

“I apologize, Miss Smythin, for doubting you. However, you still followed them up here and are out after curfew, so I’ll have to dock Slytherin twenty-five points and you will be serving detention with Potter and Granger.” Professor McGonagall turns to the other two. “I would never have believed it of any of you. It’s one o’clock in the morning. I’m disgusted! I caught Mr Longbottom out here as well, he said that he heard you two were bringing a dragon out and came to warn you to not! Four students out of bed in one night, I’ve never heard of such a thing before!”

 

“What about the Marauders?” Lily mutters under her breath. Professor McGonagall doesn’t hear her.

 

“You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense than to bring a dragon up this tower! And you, Mr Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. Both of you will receive detentions along with Mr Longbottom and Miss Smythin and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor. For each of you.”

 

“Professor-- you can’t--”

 

“Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do, Potter. Now get back to bed.” Lily supposed she could’ve gotten off better, but then it would’ve been obvious to Potter and Granger that she’d told McGonagall about the dragon, and that couldn’t happen. What was good about the whole ordeal was that now Gryffindor was very much last place and she doubted anything could really change that.

 

\--

 

Lily had decided to start trailing Quirrell around for the week before exams were due to start. So when she saw Lloyd happen upon the place she was hiding, listening to Quirrell argue with Voldemort, she was a little surprised. Lily only gestures for him to be quiet though.

 

“No-- no-- not again, please-- All right-- all right--” Then Quirrell came out, straightening his turban. Lloyd was obviously doing his best to restrain himself from going through the classroom and the open door.

 

“Going through won’t give you any clues,” Lily says grimly. “I’m very worried for this detention. Hagrid, I think, wants us to hunt down whatever’s been drinking unicorn blood and with what Quirrell just said… I doubt tonight will be pleasant.” Lily turns to pierce Lloyd Potter with her gaze. “Start reviewing defensive spells, Potter.”

 

When detention does arrive, Lily’s steeled herself for whatever possibilities she could think of. Draco had given her a worried glance and advised her to not go, but Lily had shaken her head, too enticed by the prospect of finally figuring things out. At eleven, Filch picks them up. Lily tunes out his threats and instead reviews spells.

 

“Abou’ time. I bin waitin’ fer half an hour already. All right, Lloyd, Hermione?” Lily tunes out again, only coming back when she hears Neville whimper slightly.

 

“Hagrid? Why are we serving our detention in the Forbidden Forest? If it’s forbidden to students due to how dangerous it is, what makes it safer when it’s students serving detention?”

 

“Ah, the Forbidden Fores’ is safe enough. Don’ worry about it. Now, listen carefully, ‘cause it can be dangerous what we’re gonna do tonight, an’ I don’ want no one takin’ risks. Follow me over here a moment.” They did. “Look there. See that stuff shinin’ on the ground? Silvery stuff? That’s unicorn blood. There’s a unicorn in there bin badly hurt by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We’re gonna try an’ find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery.”

 

“And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?” Neville asks, fear creeping into his voice.

 

“There’s nothin’ that lives in the forest that’ll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. An’ keep ter the path. Right, now, we’re gonna split inter two parties an’ follow the trail in diff’rent directions. There’s blood all over the place, it must’ve bin staggerin’ around since last night at least.” Lily frowns at Hagrid’s sure belief that nothing with harm them; there were higher chances that it was something visiting the forest that was harming the unicorns and surely they’d target the students if they were to come across it.

 

“I’ll go with Fang,” Lily says, not bothering to keep the disapproval out of her voice. The lamplight flickers on her face, her eyes glowing too bright and her face too sharp.

 

“All right, but I warn yeh, he’s a coward,” Hagrid says. “So me, Neville, an Hermione’ll go one way an’ Lily, Lloyd, an’ Fang’ll go the other. Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we’ll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an’ practice now-- that’s it-- an’ if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an’ we’ll all come an’ find yeh-- so be careful-- let’s go.”

 

Lily let her senses spread across the forest and she felt an unnatural spot of darkness near where Hagrid was-- but it didn’t stop there, rather began making a path towards an area in front of Lily-- on Lily’s path, and she grimaced.

 

“So, Professor McGonagall caught you as well?”

 

“Sh.”

 

“But--”

 

“Lloyd James Potter, I am getting to the bottom of this even if it kills me or you or anyone, so be quiet,” Lily snaps, not pulling any attention away from her observations. “Right. It’s moving ahead, we better follow it.”

 

“What’s moving ahead?!”

 

“The thing that’s killing the unicorns, I suspect drinking the unicorn blood too, of course. I’d wager it’s about a half hour walk.”

 

“Let’s go.” Potter’s tone is as resigned as the rest of his face, but his eyes betray excitement. They continue walking in the forest, deeper and deeper, until the path is practically nonexistent.

 

The blood, Lily notes, seemed to be getting thicker, and there was a clearing up ahead. Lily’s head jerks up to see the ancient oak tree a couple yards away.

 

“There it is. Dead,” she whispers, hoping it doesn’t carry. “Don’t shoot up green sparks yet.” Potter doesn’t, thankfully, and Lily waits to watch the bushes. A figure shoots up from them and begins to stalk towards the unicorn. It lowers its head to the unicorn’s side wound and begins to drink. Lily contemplates the identity of the figure, and all she can come up with is Professor Quirrell. Who else would be powerful enough to catch a unicorn and desperate enough to drink unicorn blood?

 

Then Potter let out a terrible scream and bolted along with Fang and the hooded figure raised his head to look at Lily. Silvery blood dribbles down its front as it got to its feet and began advancing. Lily watches it curiously.

 

“Professor Quirrell, Tom Marvolo Riddle,” Lily mutters absentmindedly, ignoring the pain in her scar. The figure draws back in surprise and Lily gives it a smile. “Stop killing unicorns please, there are easier ways to live.”

 

Right then a centaur gallops out of the forest, jumps over Lily’s head, barely managing to not kick her, and charges at the figure.

 

“Are you all right?” the centaur asks Lily. Lily nods.

 

“Yes, thank you. Was that Lord Voldemort?” Firenze nods.

 

“You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time.”

 

“Oh, I would wager it to be a lot safer than you expect. I think I can find my way back to Hagrid,” Lily smiles before disappearing.

 

“Lily, are you alright?!” Hermione exclaims. Lily nods.

 

“I’m fine. The unicorn is dead, Hagrid, it’s at the clearing back there, but also someone’s been drinking unicorn blood so I don’t think we’re actually that safe.”

 

\--

 

Exams came and passed uneventfully, and Lily had gone in with some cram studying on Professor Snape's insistence. She thought she did relatively well, considering. In fact, Professor McGonagall had disclosed that she’d scored highest with a one hundred thirteen per cent which had confused Lily at first-- how could one get higher than one hundred?-- but she’d accepted it and moved on.

 

“I think he’s going for the Philosopher’s Stone tonight. Dumbledore is out of the school and this is the only time he can do it and I know Potter, Granger, and Weasley will be going through the trapdoor tonight,” Lily says. “Draco, what the heck do I do?”

 

“You either let them die and fail as Lady of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter, or you go after them. Goodness knows they need the help.”

 

“Come with me?” Lily pleads. “Actually, no. That won’t work. They’ll immediately distrust us if you come and five is too many people.”

 

“Good. I’m sure you’ll be fine, especially since Voldemort has no idea that you’re a Potter.”

 

“Hopefully.”

 

“Don’t be silly, he couldn’t know otherwise,” Pansy cuts in. “And maybe you can kill Quirrell while you’re at it for making your first year of Hogwarts horrible.”

 

“You have a point, Pansy dearest,” Lily says, examining a nail. “I think Hogwarts’ wards allow me to do that, actually-- I’ve been researching them.”

 

“Kill everyone except us.” Draco smirks immediately. Lily rolls her eyes at his demand.

 

“No, I’m not trying to get in Azkaban with multiple counts of murder.”


	11. Testing the Teachers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily fights Voldemort!
> 
> Quick clarifier-- Lily's appearance has changed (I might have deleted that detail somewhere by accident or it might have been overlooked, but her appearance changes as a result of visiting the goblins and removing Dumbledore's Glamours) so Voldemort doesn't know who Lily was.
> 
> Lily also feels sad because she wants a family :( but it's touched on very briefly because Lily doesn't want to think about it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter of the book! Thank you to everyone who read it! I'm expecting that book 2 will come up in a couple of weeks with the same update schedule as this one :) Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Lily waits for them to land in the Devil’s Snare; Fluffy had allowed her through, telling her that Professor Quirrell had already passed. She told Fluffy to let Potter, Weasley, and Granger through before dropping through the chute, scaring away the Devil’s Snare, and walking to the other side of the door to wait.

She doesn’t wait long. Potter arrives first, followed by Weasley, and then Granger. Lily hears Weasley say, “Lucky this plant thing’s here, really.”

“Lucky! Look at you both!” Granger jumped up and safely made it to where Lily was standing though she still hadn’t noticed Lily. She emerges from the shadows.

“It’s Devil’s Snare. Potter, Weasley, stop moving! If you struggle you’ll be choked faster!” Lily orders before thrusting out her hand. A small flame leaps about and the plants immediately clear. “Alright, let’s go through the door.”

“You’re not coming with us!”

“You wouldn’t have even made it past the first trap without me. Come on,” Lily says, rolling her eyes. “Oh look, another test. I think it’s Professor Flitwick’s.”

“Are those-- are those birds?” Hermione frowns up at them.

“Do you think they’ll attack if I run through?” Ron asks.

“I don’t think so. Potter, try it.” Lloyd shoots Lily a glare but runs across anyway. Nothing happens. When Lloyd tugs on the door handle, nothing happens either.

“The door is locked! We’ve got to get a key or something.”

“Right, well, have we tried unlocking spells yet?” Hermione asks and steps up to the door. “Alohomora.” Nothing happens. 

“Well, we have a plethora of flying keys overhead, so I’m going to say that the door will most likely not open with an unlocking spell,” Lily points out. “I’m going to try summoning the right key. Accio silver key with blue wings.” The key flies towards her. “Oh. I didn’t expect that to work. Shall we go?” Lily asks, handing Hermione the key.

When they step through the door, the room immediately lights up to a chessboard.

“We’ve got to play our way across the board!” Ron exclaims as the thought hits him.

“How?” Hermione asks. Lily looks at the pieces, thinking.

“Just take their place, I suppose. Can I take queen? And Weasley, you’re good at chess, right?” Lily says, already moving to take the queen’s spot. “I think… Hermione, could you take left castle, and Potter, take the right bishop. Weasley, you should take the knight-- it’ll give you a better perspective of the board.” The three of them do as they’re ordered.

“Now, don’t be offended or anything, but neither of you are that good at chess--” Ron says, obviously directed towards Lloyd and Hermione.

“Weasley, get on the horse and tell me what you’re going to do before you do it. I’m sure between the two of us, we’ll get off this board with minor casualties. White moves first in chess-- yes, there they go with the pawn.”

“Alright, I think we’ll mirror the movement… Smythin?”

“Go ahead.”

The two of them work in that sort of tandem for a little. The first shock comes when a black knight’s taken, with the queen smashing it to the ground.

“Okay Hermione, go take the bishop,” Ron orders right after, looking ashen. Lily seems to be the only one unaffected.

The game goes on.

“Weasley, you better move Potter before he gets taken out,” Lily points out.

“Smythin, you don’t want to move there, trust me,” Ron says when Lily begins to take steps towards the white queen.

Lily and Ron themselves darted in and out and between pieces, taking out as many white pieces as were black pieces taken. Finally, Lily looked up to Ron’s knight.

“Weasley, this is a chance. We’re nearly there, but do you really want to take this opportunity?” Lily asks. The white queen turns its blank face towards Ron.

“Yes… it’s the only way… I’ve got to be taken,” Ron says, slowly getting louder with each word. Lily sighs as Lloyd and Hermione protest.

“That’s chess! You’ve got to make some sacrifices! I take one step forward and she’ll take me-- that leaves you free to checkmate the king, Lloyd!”

“But--”

“Oh, do be quiet. Weasley’s made up his mind and you Gryffindors are stubborn as mules. Before you take the step, give me a moment to do some wards so you don’t suffer permanent brain damage,” Lily snorts. A couple waves of her hands later and Lily nods curtly. “Go.”

“Ready? Here I go-- now, don’t hang around once you’ve won.”

Ron’s face is pale as he steps out. The white queen pounces immediately, striking him across the head with a heavy stone arm and he crashed-- Hermione screamed but didn’t move.

“Potter, move three spaces to the left.” Once Lloyd’s done as instructed, Lily allows a smile to break over her face. “Checkmate.” The white king took off his crown. Surprisingly, he threw it at Lily’s feet, but no one really cared-- they had won. The chess figures bowed and parted.

“Granger, stay if you’re worried. I can get Potter through the next two-- Quirrell’s is definitely a troll, which is knocked out, and Professor Snape told me his was a logic puzzle.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Hermione, you know as well as I do that my accidental magic can do surprising things.”

“Alright,” Hermione finally gives in, rushing over to Ron. Lily watches them for a couple seconds, then turns to Lloyd.

“Okay, let’s go,” he announces. He opens the door rather hesitantly. A stench immediately overwhelms them and Lily frowns.

“That’s horrible. Let’s go,” she says, pushing him through, past the troll. Lily pulls open the next door. There was nothing terribly frightening-- just a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

“I’m guessing this is Snape’s? What do we have to do?” Lloyd asks. Lily frowns, feeling the magic around it.

“Okay, we’re stepping through the threshold at the same time. I don’t fancy getting burnt to toast,” Lily says. They step through and immediately a purple fire blazes up behind them while black flames shoot up at the entrance of the other door.

“Then what?” Lloyd asks, slightly panicked as they were trapped.

“Look,” Lily says as she picks up a scroll. “A riddle, of sorts. Or a logic puzzle, depending on how you think of it.”

Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide,  
You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;  
Second, different are those who stand on either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

“Not his best work,” Lily says, looking displeased. Lloyd looks at her in shock; he’s displeased as well, but for different reasons.

“How do we even know--”

“This isn’t magic. It’s logic and several wizards and witches would be stuck in here forever.”

“So will we, then,” Lloyd snorts. Lily rolls her eyes.

“No. I used to play these puzzles when I was little. Now be quiet as I figure this out.” Lily mutters under her breath as she works. “So we can’t drink the furthermost left one, the middle bottle, or the one right of it. The second left and second right are wine, and since the one on the end doesn’t help us move forward-- it’s the third bottle.” Lily eyes the small bottle-- the smallest, actually, and picks it up. “This one is it.”

“Give it here,” Lloyd says.

“There’s enough for two swallows, I’ll go through with you,” Lily says. Lloyd frowns at her. “You can’t exactly stop me. I’m holding it, after all, and I solved it..” Lloyd’s frown deepens but he can’t deny Lily’s words, so he gives grudging permission. Lily takes a small sip and hands the bottle to Lloyd.

“See you on the other side,” Lloyd says right after drinking it. He walks through the fire and Lily follows.

There was already someone there, Professor Quirrell. He stood in front of a mirror and continued facing it, even though he’d obviously already seen the two first-years. Quirrell did that until Lloyd broke the silence.

“You!” he gasps. Quirrell’s face twists into an odd smile.

“Me. I wondered whether I’d be meeting you here, Potter. And I see you’ve brought a… friend.” Lily notes the lack of a stutter. She doubts that they’ll be having Quirrell as their defence teacher next year.

“But I thought-- Snape--” Lloyd was truly at a loss for words. 

“Severus?” Quirrell laughs, cold and sharp. Lily’s eyes widen at that-- she didn’t know that Quirrell himself had this character; she’d always assumed it was because Voldemort was fully possessing him at that time. She’d been wrong.

“Yeah, Snape--” he’s cut off.

“Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn’t he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?”

“But Snape tried to kill Lily!”

“How many times, Lloyd? How many times do I need to tell you that Professor Snape was muttering the counterjinx and it was Granger knocking over Professor Quirrell that ended the jinx?”

“Exactly right… I tried to kill Miss Smythin. She knew too much, was too suspicious. Of course, that all proved true at the Forbidden Forest, didn’t it?”

“Snape was trying to save her?”

“Of course. He was trying to save you, too… that was why he refereed your next match and was trying to make sure that I didn’t do the same thing to you. He needn’t have bothered; I couldn’t do anything with Professor Dumbledore watching. Everyone else thought he was trying to stop Gryffindor from winning… he was rather unpopular. What a waste of time, when after all that, I’m going to kill you tonight,” Professor Quirrell monologues. During that time, when he’s wasting his breath, Lily begins creating a strong ward around herself. Quirrell snaps his fingers and ropes wrap themselves tightly around Lloyd. They wrap themselves around a bubble of air in Lily’s case, but it was all well as he didn’t look at her.

“You two are too nosy to live… Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew you’d seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone.”

“You let the troll in?”

“Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls-- you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around looking for it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off. Not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn’t even manage to bite Snape’s leg off properly.”

“Did you know, Quirrell, that Potter ended up locking the troll in the girl’s bathroom instead of fighting it? That was me-- shame I couldn’t have killed the ugly thing while I was at it, but then the other professors barged in,” Lily comments.

“You couldn’t have killed a troll, silly girl, you’re a first year. Now, wait quietly the both of you. I need to examine this interesting mirror.”

Lily looks at the mirror and the name on it-- the Mirror of Erised. The first thing she noticed was that Erised was practically just Desire backwards, and from that she had an inkling of what the mirror showed.

“This mirror is the key to finding the Stone,” Quirrell murmured. His thin fingers tapped along the frame. “Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this… but he’s in London… I’ll be far away by the time he gets back…”

Lily notes the panic in Lloyd’s eyes and she knows he’s going to try and stall.

“I saw you and Snape in the forest--” he blurted. Lily smirks, amused by his feeble efforts.

“Yes,” Quirrell says as he walks around the mirror to examine the back of it. “He was on to me by that time, trying to find out how far I’d gotten. He suspected me all along. Tried to frighten me-- as though he could, when I had Lord Voldemort on my side…” He comes back to the front of the mirror, staring at it hungrily. Lily realizes, at this point, that the mirror is a dangerously powerful weapon.

“I see the Stone… I’m presenting it to my master… but where is it?” Lily observes Lloyd’s struggle with his ropes and his sudden giving-up. He opens his mouth again.

“But Snape always seemed to hate me so much.”

“Oh, he does. Heavens yes. He was at Hogwarts with your father, didn’t you know? They loathed each other, but he never wanted you dead,” Quirrell explains.

“But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing-- I thought Snape was threatening you…” Lloyd trails off. Lily wonders how blind one can be. Quirrell’s face holds a tremor of fear which disappears just as quickly as it came.

“Sometimes I find it hard to follow my master’s instructions-- he is a great wizard and I am weak--” Lily immediately cuts him off.

“You mean you don’t seek power,” Lily scoffs. At the same time, Lloyd speaks.

“He was in the classroom with you?” he gasps.

“He is with me wherever I go. I met him when I travelled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it… Since then, I have served him faithfully, although I have let him down many times. He has had to be very hard on me. He does not forgive mistakes easily.” Quirrell shivered then, a tremor which has Lily narrowing her eyes. Whatever Lord Voldemort did to the poor man, it’s obviously traumatized him. “When I failed to steal the stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased. He punished me… decided he would have to keep a closer watch on me…” his voice trails off. Lily finds herself curious of the man’s story, but it’s obvious it won’t be given. It’ll have to remain one of those mysteries never solved.

Quirrell curses under his breath. “I don’t understand… is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?” Lily notices from the corner of her eye that Lloyd is brightening with a desperate idea. She watches as he tries to edge to the left, to the front of the mirror, but trips and falls from the ropes. Quirrell ignores Lloyd in favour of talking to himself, so Lily quickly makes a slashing motion with her hand and the ropes fall.

“What does this mirror do? How does it work? Help me, Master!” A voice answers, seeming to come from Quirrell himself. Lloyd stumbles back, aghast.

“Use the boy… Use the boy…” Quirrell rounds on Lloyd. He’s surprised by the lack of ropes but the surprise flits away.

“Potter, come here,” Quirrell says. “Come here. Look in the mirror and tell me what you see.”

Lily watches the proceedings, amused. Being considered “second-rate”, she supposed, had its own benefits. She observes Quirrell as he moves close behind Lloyd, Lloyd’s pale and scared face suddenly becoming shocked and the sudden lump in his pocket, and the sudden wild look in Potter’s eyes when Quirrell asks him what he sees.

“I see myself shaking hands with Dumbledore. I-- I’ve won the house cup for Gryffindor.” Lily wonders how Potter’s lived so far; his lying is abysmal but apparently Quirrell’s ability to detect lies is worse. Quirrell curses again and Lily has to fight the urge to laugh. All Quirrell had to do was bind Potter up again and reach into his pocket but Quirrell didn’t realize. Their own Defence professor, aided by Voldemort, couldn’t defeat bloody Lloyd Potter. He’d crumble to dust if he touched Lily.

“Get out of the way,” Quirrell finally says. Lloyd begins walking away and Lily raises an eyebrow at him, willing him to hurry up so they could just go back to safety.

“He lies… he lies…” the oddly high voice says again. Lloyd’s eyes betray his alarm and Lily pins him with a glare which says that he bloody well lie through this.

“Potter, come back here! Tell me the truth! What did you just see?” Quirrell shouts, though Potter isn’t more than eight paces away from the professor. The high voice-- Lord Voldemort-- speaks again.

“Let me speak to him… face-to-face…”

“Master, you are not strong enough!”

“I have strength enough… for this…” Lily reflects that if Lord Voldemort’s speaking this slowly, he’s either a really dramatic turd or he really doesn’t have much strength-- all the better for her, because that means she can kill him easier. She notices that Lloyd isn’t moving, seemingly petrified as he watches Quirrell unwrap his turban and turn on the spot.

In that span of five seconds, Lily and Lloyd meet the man who killed their parents, a man living on the back of Quirrell’s head with a terrible face-- chalk white skin with glaringly red eyes, facial features a mix of Fair Folk and Muggle, and Lily flinches upon that realization. Lord Voldemort is someone hovering between the two worlds of magic and muggle, enabled by his lack of morals.

“Lloyd Potter…” he whispers. Lloyd’s eyes fill with panic, again, and Lily nearly sighs. “See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor… I have form only when I can share another’s body… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds… Unicorn blood has strengthened me, these past weeks… you saw faithful Quirrell drinking it for me in the forest… and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own… Now…. why don’t you give me that Stone in your pocket?” Lord Voldemort’s monologuing concerns Lily; she’s now quite sure of his insanity because if one was already weak, was monologuing worth the effort? On the other hand, feeling surges back into Lloyd’s legs upon his realization that Voldemort knew where the stone was, and he stumbles backwards.

“Don’t be a fool,” Voldemort snarls. “Better save your own life and join me… or you’ll meet the same end as your parents…. They died begging me for mercy…” Lloyd is suddenly furious.

“LIAR!” he shouts as Quirrell walks backwards toward him so Voldemort could continue watching him. Voldemort was now smiling, a smile which chilled Lily to the bone. It was the smile of the insane.

“How touching… I always value bravery… Yes, boy, your parents were brave… I killed your father first, and he put up a courageous fight… but your mother needn’t have died… she was protecting your sister… Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain.”

“NEVER!” Lloyd yells again. By then, Lily’s already next to him. She takes the stone out of his pocket and places it in her pouch as Lloyd sprints to the flame door. Voldemort’s attention is redirected to Lily.

“Ah, Miss Smythin… You are a Slytherin, you know… seek power, and I have a world of power… all you have to do is give me the Stone….”

“Lily, don’t!” Lloyd exclaims.

“What, do you take me for an idiot?” Lily replies. “All I ask for is your magical oath that you will not attempt to harm Potter nor I while we are on school grounds. After that, I will give you the Stone.” Lily pulls up her black ocean and promptly kicks Voldemort out of her mind. “And you will not attempt Legilimency on me,” she hisses, eyes glowing bright green and features all of a sudden too cruel and sharp.

“I, Lord Voldemort…, solemnly swear that I will not harm… Lloyd Potter or Lily Smythin at Hogwarts… upon the act of their giving me the Stone in Lily Smythin’s pouch… at the expense of my magic. Nor will I attempt to invade Lily Smythin’s mind… while she reside at Hogwarts…, the consequence of such a breach … being the loss of my magic…. So mote it be,” Lord Voldemort intones.

“I, Lily Smythin, solemnly swear that I will hand over the stone in my mokeskin pouch in exchange for safety for Lloyd Potter and me from Lord Voldemort while at Hogwarts. If he breaches this either by harming us while we are at Hogwarts or attempting to invade my mind while I am at Hogwarts, he will lose his magic. So mote it be,” Lily finishes. She extracts the fake Stone from her pouch and hands it over. “Nicholas Flamel would have never placed his Philosopher’s Stone in a school full of magical curious children.”

“Lily, go!” Lloyd exclaims.

“He can’t harm me right now, let me gloat a little!” Lily exclaims. The Dark Lord is snarling and hissing in anger and Lily beams at him. “Sorry, but you’re a Slytherin, you know that feeling where you have to manipulate something.” Then she reaches up and touches him and Lord Voldemort begins screaming in pain as her very touch burns him and Quirrell.

Soon, there’s nothing but ashen dust left and a black spirit, which swoops around angrily before dissipating.

“Come, let’s go,” Lily says and steers Potter back to where Hermione and Ron are. Quietly, the four of them walk back to the first test of Devil’s Snare.

“How do we get out?”

“Hold on tight,” Lily says, and suddenly the other three experience an unpleasant lurch and they find themselves in front of the Cerberus. Ron, Hermione, and Lloyd all feel the urge to heave.  
\--

They’d been forced into the Hospital Wing for some check-ups. Lord Sirius Black had shown up as well, worrying over Lily-- and Lloyd-- and their state of wellbeing.

Then Headmaster Dumbledore made a visit which Lily eavesdrops on. Albus Dumbledore claims that the Stone was destroyed and that Lord Voldemort didn’t have it anymore-- Lily just thought that when Quirrell died, Lord Voldemort wasn’t able to utilize the Stone, and besides, it hadn’t been real. The more Dumbledore opened his mouth, the more Lily thought that he’d encouraged Lloyd to go down the trapdoor and “fight” Voldemort. Finally he left, and he was followed by Hagrid coming in with a scrapbook of photos of Lily’s parents for Lloyd.

Then Hermione and Ron came in along with Draco and Pansy.

“Tell us what happened!” Ron says almost immediately. They were a good audience and Lloyd a good storyteller. Thankfully Lily had the good sense to Obliviate Lloyd of that bit where she burned the Defence professor to death so her role isn’t focused on too much which continues her anonymity.

When they’re released, Lily is thrown right back in to Quidditch practise as the next game is against Ravenclaw to determine who wins the Quidditch Cup-- that little bit of normalcy is more than welcome.  
\--

Or at least, Lily feels almost normal, pretending to fly around on her Nimbus and diving for the Snitch and coming back up with a win under her belt for Slytherin. It’s also clear that Slytherin will win the House Cup again-- for the eighth year in a row.  
\--

The last feast finds the Great Hall completely decorated in Slytherin colours-- green and silver with the serpent banner hanging around the hall. Dumbledore finally arrives to make his end of year speech.

“Another year gone! And I must trouble you with an old man’s wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts… Now as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy two.” There was a great cheer and Lily was in the middle of the noise. She lets her smile creep out and the Great Hall can’t help but smile as well.

“Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account.” Slytherin smiles fade a little and brief expressions of fury flit over faces.

“Ahem. I have a few last minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes… First-- to Mr. Ronald Weasley for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.”

Cheers resounded and Percy Weasley’s proud voice could be heard above all others. Lily briefly feels a little bit of sadness at her own lack of family to be proud of and to be proud of her but promptly flicks it away-- while she might not have corporeal blood family, James and Lily have always watched.

“Second-- to Miss Hermione Granger… for keeping a cool head under strenuous circumstances, I award Gryffindor house fifty points.” Another loud shout made the school’s approval known. Hermione buries her head in her hands and Lily suspects that she might just be crying.

“Third-- to Mr. Lloyd Potter for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points.” Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff erupted in shouts at the declaration, realizing that Gryffindor was now tied with Slytherin.

“There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom.”

The Great Hall explodes. Lily is worried that the architecture is shaking from the noise and stomping.

Then Professor Snape stands up, looking vaguely annoyed and threatening.

“I also wish to award some last minute points as we seem to have glossed over the participation of Ms Lily Smythin, without which Lloyd Potter would most certainly have died at the hands of Lord Voldemort or one of the teacher’s traps. So to Ms Lily Smythin, for keeping a calculating mindset even in the face of Devil’s Snare, fire, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I award Slytherin house fifty points.”

Another eruption takes place as the members of Slytherin house begin cheering and casting grateful looks at Lily. The other Houses seem slightly resentful, but Slytherin doesn’t quite care-- they’ve won, after all.  
\--

Suddenly exam results are out, which Lily had completely forgotten about in the previous excitement. To her surprise and Hermione’s chagrin, Lily had passed with flying marks-- marks which flew higher than Hermione Granger’s, placing Lily as top of her class in all subjects. No one in first year was thrown out, though she suspected that Dumbledore had pulled a few strings for some Gryffindors. (Because come on, Edna Rue couldn’t possibly have passed if she only answered five questions on each test.)

And then suddenly wardrobes were empty, trunks were packed, and Lily was more than ready to go back to Potter Manor and take a nice long bath and a nap, but first she has to suffer through a train ride, pretending to be nice and sweet.

When they finally start boarding off the train, Lloyd’s immediately welcomed by Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Dudley, on the other hand, remains vaguely sneering.

“Why are we at this station full of freaks?” he complains. No one pays him any attention but Lily bristles at his statements.

Meanwhile, Lloyd’s aunt and uncle fawn over him before beginning to take him home, and Lily feels a stab of… sadness, maybe jealousy, for her own lack of family. Lily immediately pushes the thought aside; she’s making her own family, isn’t she, with Sirius and Pansy and Draco and the rest of the Malfoys, and perhaps family is who you choose to be family, not what’s handed to you on a platter by the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully, it wasn't /terrible/ and you somewhat enjoyed it... anyway, if there are any errors, whether grammatical or in spelling, feel free to tell me and I'll get onto fixing it. I think I'll be updating one chapter per week. If it doesn't update-- I either forgot or I died. Again, thanks for reading!


End file.
